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(continued inside back cover)

ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

ANNALE VAN DIE SUID-AFRIKAANSE MUSEUM

Volume 70 + Band

May 1981 Mei

Part 3 Deel

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS

PART 3

WOOD-CARVING

LINDSAY HOOPER

Cape Town Kaapstad

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SOME NGUNI CRAFTS

PART 3

WOOD-CARVING

LINDSAY HOOPER

South African Museum, Cape Town

(With 118 figures and | table)

[MS. accepted 15 July 1980]

ABSTRACT

Nguni wood-carving is recorded from historical and anthropological literature, from

museum collections and from fieldwork undertaken during the last decade. Traditional

techniques, tools used, woods preferred, and types, styles and decorations of wooden arte-

facts used by the Nguni people are documented and compared. Changes in these, due to social

and environmental factors, are noted. While some artefacts have been replaced by introduced

goods, specialization in carving—formerly limited—has increased among carvers still

practising. The record indicates that wood-carving was most highly developed among the

Natal Nguni.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction ; Bh : ‘ : 158

Southern Nguni

Introduction . Bye we ; : : 159

Agricultural implements . . . 161

Household objects 2 : A ; 164

Musical instruments. ; : : 179

Personal objects. : : : : 182

Weapons . : ; ‘ 4 : , 194

Summary : : ; : 3 e205

Natal Nguni

Introduction . é ; : A . 206

Agricultural implements ; ; . 208

Household objects : : : 5) 1 PANY

Musical instruments. : : e235)

Personal objects. : : : . 240

Weapons . : : 5 : 5 a 9245

Ritual objects : : : : WEDNEZSS

Summary : i : ‘ : AE2OO

Swazi

Introduction . F 5 ‘ : e250

Agricultural implements 6 : an 257

Household objects , ; ; 5.2 PASS

Musical instruments. : : . 266

Personal objects. F ‘ : so 20)

Weapons . : ; : : é non 27

Ritual objects é ; ; ‘ a AIS

Summary : ; : ; ‘ 5° AI

Southern Transvaal Ndebele

Introduction . § : : : 5 ZI)

Agricultural implements : : 5. AKG

Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 70 (3), 1981: 157-312, 118 figs, 1 table.

ey)

158 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

PAGE

Household objects : ; ; 5. (DIG

Personal objects. ; ; : e716

Weapons . j : ‘ ; : ; 278

Summary j ; : : : e279

Northern Transvaal Ndebele

Introduction . : 5 ; : 8 ()

Household objects . : : : . 280

Musical instruments. ‘ : a. QR

Weapons . : F : : > 283

Summary : é a FB}

Ndebele (Matabele) - Finite

Introduction . 5 ; gal

Agricultural implements : : - 285

Household objects . : : : arin DY

Musical instruments. : : a 295

Personal objects. ; : : 72290

Weapons . : : F : ° 1298

Ritual objects . 2 , ‘ é 5 Stil

Summary : : : : : S02

Discussion and summary . : : . 303

Acknowledgements . : 5 Z ~~. 306

References . : : ; ; ; eS Oi

Abbreviations. ; ; : : 5 VSI

INTRODUCTION

This paper is one of a series recording the techniques used by the Nguni

in manufacturing the objects which collectively form their material culture.

The emphasis is on technology, and on the form and style of carved wooden

objects. Simple whittling, as for hut construction, and joinery, are not dealt

with. Where information has been available, comments on craftsmen and the

process of exchange of carved articles, are included. A brief historical and

geographical setting of the various groups is given in the preface and intro-

duction to the series (Shaw 1976), but a greater social, economic and ecological

study of the various groups is outside the scope of the series.

It is intended to describe wood-carving as practised in the past, and to

compare this with later changes. Culture contact has perhaps more often led

to the abandonment of an item of culture and consequent loss of skill in making,

rather than to change in form or production. However, the greater facility in

carving resulting from the increased availability of metal tools is an important

exception.

The information is drawn from the literature, from specimens seen in

South African and European museums, and from fieldwork. The details of

areas visited are in the introduction to the series (Shaw 1976). The places

visited and the date of visit, are indicated in parentheses in the text.

More intensive fieldwork was limited by practical considerations. In view

of rapidly changing situations and life styles in Nguni areas, it was considered

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 159

preferable to make some record of past ‘traditional’ practices before these,

or even the memory of them, disappeared, rather than to limit study to one

area only. Fieldwork was conducted during winter months when there was

less agricultural activity and more time for craft-work. Since none of the

research workers speaks any Nguni language, communication was through

local interpreters who in some cases also acted as guides. This naturally led to

some problems in orthography and in eliciting and recording information. The

earliest fieldwork was done in 1969 and the most recent in 1973.

The limitations of the fieldwork placed a greater reliance on other sources.

Certain problems arose, for example, the time covered. Literature on the

Southern Nguni goes back to the seventeenth century; for the Natal Nguni

the sources are mostly nineteenth century, while records of the Swazi and

Ndebele are for the most part twentieth century. Museum collections, too,

were made at differing times—Southern and Natal Nguni specimens are often

over 100 years old, while Ndebele specimens wére mostly more recently collected.

The lists of terms are quoted verbatim from the sources indicated, and

present-day anomalies such as ‘Kafir’ and ‘Native’ therefore occur. Where a

term was obtained from a particular group, this is indicated in parentheses,

otherwise terms quoted were taken from literary sources and thought to be in

general use. In Kropf’s (1915) dictionary the abbreviation ‘Em.’ is given for

‘Embo’, which, according to Kropf, is synonymous with ‘Fingo’.

The names ‘Pondoland’, ‘Zululand’, etc., are retained in the text because

this was usage current at the time of collection of the information or specimen.

The vernacular names of trees used for carving were obtained from the

literary, field or museum source quoted, and the botanical name sometimes

from the same source but more often from the reference works quoted. In cases

where a field specimen was taken, the identification was done by the National

Botanic Gardens of South Africa, Kirstenbosch.

While the nature of the sources available has posed problems and resulted

in uneven coverage, it is none the less hoped that the study will be of use to

those interested in the technology of the material culture of the Nguni, par-

ticularly museum workers.

SOUTHERN NGUNI

INTRODUCTION

Availability of material

The area of the eastern Cape and Transkei occupied by the Southern Nguni

was naturally well forested with a variety of timber trees (Sim 1907: 3-10;

Hunter 1936: 116; Hammond-Tooke 1962: 150). Besides that which grew in

forests reserved by chiefs for hunting (Sim 1907: 8), wood was common property

until the end of the nineteenth century when certain areas were declared forest

reserves and restrictions were placed on felling (Sim 1907: 8; Hunter 1936: 116;

160 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Hammond-Tooke 1962: 150; Holt 1969: 202). Although timber is still generally

available, in some areas a lack of material has limited wood-carving (Mt Frere,

1969).

Practitioners

In all the Southern Nguni groups most wood-carving was done by the

men of the household, and while it is increasingly the trend for individuals

particularly skilled to specialize and make articles, for example pipes for others

(Hunter 1936: 100; Hammond-Tooke 1962: 26), specialists could not live

entirely by their craft (Hunter 1936: 102; Gitywa 1971: 130, 163). There is no

evidence of skill in carving being passed from father to son within certain

families only.

Trade of articles made by specialists was not always economic. A pipe-

maker might give a pipe to a kinsman or neighbour, ultimately in exchange for

practical assistance or small livestock (Kropf 1889: 115; Gitywa 1971: 135).

Latterly trade with other villages and through village traders has been in terms

of cash (Gitywa 1971: 135) (Ngqeleni, 1969).

Seasoning

Preference for seasoned wood is recorded for pipe-making only, in which

case the wood was seasoned either in the forest or inside a hut, or else a dead

tree was selected (Gitywa 1971: 130) (Tshabo, Kentani and Nggqeleni, 1969).

Technique

There is little evidence of iron-smelting by the Southern Nguni, although

smithing of traded iron was practised (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1974: 122, 123).

Metal tools were consequently relatively scarce. A wedge-shaped metal blade

inserted at right angles through a haft of tough and knobbly wood about

30 cm long (Alberti 1811: 152; Doéhne 1844: 37; Nauhaus 1881, pl. 9), was

termed izembhe, and was used as an adze for wood-carving and, by turning

the blade in the haft, as an axe for felling trees. This traditional tool was later

replaced by store-bought or home-made European-type tools: an axe (still

termed izembhe), a drill (ibola), a chisel (isixholo), a wooden mallet, a knife,

and sandpaper (Libode, Kentani and Mt Avyliff, 1969). Special tools were

required for pipe-making. The bore through the stem was previously burned,

nowadays it is drilled with a wire drill or a store-bought drill, and the bowl is

hollowed with small chisels (Gitywa 1971: 131) (Kentani, Tshabo and Nggeleni,

1969).

Animal fat, except pig fat which was said to cause cracking, was used to

grease and polish a pipe (Tshabo and Kentani, 1969).

Decorative patterns were mostly conventional, although human and animal

forms were carved on some pipe bowls, and a raised spiral snake-like design

was carved on some Mpondo and. Hlubi sticks. All-over grooving was found

on Mpondo and Bomvana milk-pails. The butt-end of sticks and axe-hafts

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 161

may be cross-hatched. Branded patterns or branding over carved patterns was

frequent. Pipes may have designs carved and then inlaid with molten or beaten

lead.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

AXES

Terms: izembhe—a piece of iron, 2 or 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) broad at the edge, running to a

point which was put through a handle; an axe; umphini—handle, haft, of an axe or hoe (Kropf

1915).

General

An axe, not truly an agricultural implement, was none the less useful to

the Southern Nguni for clearing bush and trees before planting a field (Déhne

1844: 9). A wedge-shaped iron blade was inserted at right angles through the

enlarged head of a haft of some strong wood. These axes were replaced probably

soon after contact with Europeans, with store-bought ringed axe-heads, still

often fitted by the owner in a straight haft.

DIGGING-STICKS

Terms: uw/ugxa—any sharp-pointed stick or iron rod for digging roots or clay (Kropf 1915);

isigxa— (Xesibe) old digging-stick made of umthathi wood (Ptaeroxylon obliquum (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1325)) (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1980); izinti—(Bomvana) digging-

sticks (Holt 1969: 210).

Xhosa

Only one reference to special digging-sticks was found in the literature.

They were 120 to 150 cm long, and sharpened like a stake (Von Winkelman in

Godée Molsbergen 1932 4: 72).

From the terms it appears that other sticks used were not strictly agri-

cultural, but were used generally to gather edible roots which supplemented

the Southern Nguni diet.

Bomvana

According to Holt (1969: 210), the Bomvana used digging-sticks, izinti,

for preparing the land before planting.

Thembu, Mpondo, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

SPADES

Terms: imbazi—one who makes clubs and wooden spades; umhlakulo—a hoe, a spade,

a plough; isikhuba—an old hoe or spade (Kropf 1915); umbazi/incibi yemiti—maker of hoes

and spades (McLaren 1919: 444).

General

Although specific information was not obtained for all the Southern Nguni

tribes, it may be supposed that a similar type of simple wooden spade was the

major agricultural implement used throughout. It has been described as a

digging-stick by many authors, but from the descriptions given the object

would seem to be better classed as a spade.

162 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

The form of the implement suited the method of cultivation. The cultivator,

traditionally a woman, squatted down, held the spade in both hands, and dug

with the sharpened’ end (Soga 1932: 393; Hunter 1936: 74). Considerable

labour was required (Godlonton 1836: 227), and the soil was dug to a depth

of only 8-10 cm (Shaw 1840: 58; Van Plettenberg in Godée Molsbergen 1932:

49). This method of using the spade seems to be an extension of the use of the

digging-stick.

These spades were obsolete by the end of the nineteenth century, and

therefore none was seen in the field.

Xhosa

The spade was short with paddle-shaped blades at one or both ends of a

short shaft (Alberti 1811: 112; Campbell 1815: 370; Kay 1833: 143; Alexander

1837: 393; Brownlee 1916: 173; Soga 1932: 118). The two blades could be

alternated if they became blunt during digging (Alberti 1811: 112; Kay 1833:

143).

The measurements given are: shaft-length 60 cm (Soga 1932: 393), diameter

5 cm; blade-length 25 cm, breadth 10 cm (Alberti 1811: 112).

It was carved from a single piece of hard wood, most commonly umthathi

(Ptaeroxylon obliquum (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1325)) (Alberti 1811:

112; Lichtenstein 1928: 334; Thompson 1827: 359; Shaw 1860: 418; Soga

1932: 393), umnonono (Strychnos henningsii (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1445)) (Soga 1932: 118).

Spades were made by the men of the homestead (Kay 1833: 143; Shaw

1840: 418; McLaren 1919: 444), but according to Soga (1932: 118) the ends

were sharpened by experts.

Thembu

A wooden spade made of Ptaeroxylon obliquum was used for cultivation

(Duggan-Cronin 1939: 27).

Mpondo

Spades or digging-sticks of the general Southern Nguni pattern were

used (Smith 1955: 63; Hunter 1936: 74). They were from 60 to 90 cm in length,

and had two sharpened working ends, hardened by fire. Hard wood was used,

Pteroxylon utile (Ptaeroxylon obliquum (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1325)),

Milletia caffra (Millettia grandis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1415)) or

Acacia horrida (Acacia karroo Hayne (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1347))

(Hunter 1936: 74).

Young boys helped the women in cultivation (Duggan-Cronin 1949: 13;

Hunter 1936: 74).

The only specimen seen is 105 cm long and is in the South African Museum

(SAM-1423, no locality, 1905) (Fig. 1).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 163

SHSae

Fig. 1. Mpondo spade, Transkei, 1905, SAM-1423.

Bhaca

The double-bladed spade, ‘a digging-stick sharpened at both ends’, was

used by the Bhaca before contact with Europeans and the introduction of the

iron hoe (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 16).

Mpondomise, Hlubi, Xesibe

No information was obtained.

HOES

Terms: umhlakulo—a hoe, spade, a plough; ikhuba—(Embo) originally an iron pick or

hoe, the pointed end of which was put through a wooden handle; now it means an ordinary

Kafir hoe; a plough; isikhuba—an old hoe or spade; umphini—handle, haft, of an axe or hoe

(Kropf 1915); ingxobonga—hoe or pick (McLaren 1919: 443, 444).

General

Hoes began to replace spades early in the nineteenth century (Dohne 1844:

72; Walker 1851, pl. 37; Soga 1932: 382). They were preferred to the plough,

which was introduced at the same time, since they were less expensive and did

not necessitate the yoking of oxen and the consequent involvement of men in

agriculture (Soga 1932: 383).

While specific information was not found for all groups, it may be

generalized that the hoe is still the most important and widespread agricultural

implement.

Two shapes of iron hoe-head were introduced into the area at the same

period. The shape introduced by the immigrant Mfengu had a pointed tang

in the same plane as the blade, while the European style introduced by mis-

sionaries and traders had a ring instead of a tang. A different haft was therefore

required by each.

Xhosa

The early iron hoe-head was fixed at an acute angle into a hole burnt by

its own heated tang in the enlarged head of a long haft (Walker 1851, pl. 37).

It was held in the haft with resin and was further secured by binding with

thongs (McLaren 1919: 444). Later hoe-heads introduced by European traders

and still in use today have, instead of a tang, a ring into which the haft fits. In

this case the haft is straight, with no enlargement at the head (Elliott 1970: 36)

(Cat’s Pass, 1970).

164 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

The hafts were made of a hard wood, umthathi (Ptaeroxylon obliquum

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1325)) or umhlebe (Olea laurifolia (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1321)) (McLaren 1919: 444).

Thembu

Hoes were used for cultivation by both men and women (Bauer 1871: 193).

Bomvyana

Hoes were recently used (Holt 1969: 211), but no information on the

making of the wooden hafts was found.

Mpondo

Iron hoe-heads are said to have been made before contact with Europeans

(Hunter 1936: 74; Duggan-Cronin 1949: 13), but no information on the making

of the haft was obtained.

Mfengu

Hoes, described as ‘iron picks’ or ‘pick axes’, were used by men and women

cultivators when the Mfengu entered the area in the early nineteenth century

(Ross in Long 1947: 212; Hallbeck 1839: 259). This was in contrast to the

‘Caffres’ who were using wooden spades at the time (Hallbeck 1839: 259).

Hlubi

Miller (1926: 27, 28) records that the Hlubi were using hoes but does not

describe them. By 1926, however, they would have been the store-bought

variety, and not the original tanged style brought with them when the Hlubi

entered the area in the early nineteenth century.

Xesibe

The hafts of hoes noted at Elubaleko in 1948 were about 50 cm long,

made of the hard wood, umthathi (Ptaeroxylon obliquum (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1325)) (E. M. Shaw, Cape Town, 1976, pers. comm.).

Bhaca

The iron-headed hoe was adopted after European contact (Hammond-

Tooke 1962: 16).

Mpondomise

No information was obtained.

HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS

HEADRESTS

Terms: isigamelo—any hing for leaning or resting the head or feet upon; a pillow, a foot-

stool; umgamelo—originally a block of wood or a small stool used for resting the head on

when sleeping; a pillow (Kropf 1915); uwmggike—(Bhaca) a block of wood with four feet,

(Xhosa) a log of wood (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1980); umbuku—(Bhaca) headrest made from

a crudely fashioned log (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 152).

Xhosa

According to the literature headrests were widely used (Holden 1866: 226;

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 165

Kidd 1925: 49; Soga 1932: 214), even the poorest families possessed one (Soga

1932: 407). Together with other personal possessions, they were buried with an

individual (Soga 1932: 214). No specimens were seen.

Bomyana

Wooden headrests were formerly used (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1980) but

the practice has fallen into disuse (Holt 1969: 223). Judging from the description,

the former headrests were later used as stools (see p. 176).

Mpondo

The type of headrest most often seen consisted of a small tree branch

with three projecting branches forming legs. The main branch, on which the

head rested, was flat and about 35 cm long and 8 cm wide. The legs were 9-13 cm

long (Shaw 1860: 510) (UCT 32/36, Flagstaff, 1932; NASKO 35/544, Lusiki-

siki, 1935) (Fig. 2A). A more solid-looking type, with four stumpy legs, was

carved from a block of wood (UCT 23/165, Hluleka, 1923) (Fig. 2B). Simple

blocks of wood were also used as headrests (Kidd 1925: 32).

In 1969 headrests were still said to be used by some people. They were

not made by specialists (Libode, 1969).

Fig. 2. Headrests. A. Mpondo, Flagstaff, 1932, UCT 32/36. B. Mpondo, Hluleka.

1923, UCT 23/165.

166 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Mpondomise

The Mpondomise also used the branch-shaped headrest (Duggan-Cronin

1949, pl. 67).

In 1969 at Tshixo, Tsolo, carved headrests were not known, but a block

of wood that served as a headrest was observed.

Hlubi

The only example seen consists of a flat rectangular cross-piece supported

by four stumpy legs (FH 38, no locality, no date).

Bhaca

Roughly carved headrests, itibuku, were still commonly made by men for

their own use in the early 1960s (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 152). A museum

specimen seen was 131 cm long and of the same type as the Mpondo three-

legged branch-type (EL Eth. 1805, no locality, 1949). Shorter headrests, 60 cm

long, were also made (Entlabeni, Mt Frere, 1969).

Umhlandoti wood (Albizia gummifera (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1321)) may be used (Entlabeni, Mt Frere, 1969), although a scarcity of wood

was said to limit the carving of headrests (Lutateni, Mt Frere, 1969).

Thembu, Mfengu, Xesibe

No information was obtained.

MILK-PAILS

Terms: ithunga—a plaited basket used as a milk-pail (Kropf 1915); milking-dish (Soga

1932: 406); amatunga okusenga—milking-pails (Louw 1964: 119); uwmpango—(Bhaca) wooden

vessel for milking into (Mt Frere, 1969).

Xhosa

The Xhosa seem to have milked into baskets originally. Later sources

record the use of milk-pails made of soft woods (Soga 1932: 407), for example

umnqwane (Erythrina tomentosa (Kropf 1915; Sim 1907: 201, 230)) and umsenge

(Cussonia spicata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 116, 117, 1324)) (Shaw

& Van Warmelo 1980). No description of the shape of the pail was found.

Bomvana

Bomvana milk-pails have straight vertically grooved sides, curving into a

flat circular base. The grooving is said to prevent slipping (DC 601, Transkei,

1930; NASKO 35/352, Elliotdale, 1935; NASKO 35/385, Elliotdale, 1935)

(Fig. 3A). In one example seen, cracks which had developed in the wall had

been plastered thickly with cow dung (NASKO 35/385, Elliotdale, 1935).

A second type seen had smooth sides and three solid lugs to prevent

slipping, and stood on three short feet (NASKO 35/391, Bomvanaland, 1935).

A separate milk-pail was used, formerly by a special milker, for the Bolo-

wane cattle, the sacred herd used for sacrifices (Cook 1931: 123; Soga 1932:

390).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 167

A B

Fig. 3. Milk-pails. A. Bomvana, Elliotdale, 1935, NASKO 35/352. B. Mpondo,

Bizana, 1901, SAM-248.

Mpondo

Mpondo milk-pails may have three or four short legs or feet which may be

in line with the sides of the pail (SAM-9552, Libode, 1969) (Shaw & Van

Warmelo 1980) or may project at an angle to the sides (SAM-248, Bizana, 1901;

Albany C1350, Ntontela, no date; NASKO 35/441, Lusikisiki, 1935). The

sides of the pail may be smooth (Albany C1350, Ntontela, no date), vertically

grooved (SAM-248, Bizana, 1901; SAM-9552, Libode, 1969) (Fig. 3B), or

have sections of horizontal as well as vertical grooves, suggesting handles or

grips (SAM-9552, Libode, 1969). One specimen seen had a bark strip tied

round the legs so that it could be hung up (NASKO 35/441, Lusikisiki, 1935),

and another specimen was strengthened by a leather thong which was bound

round the top of the pail, with vertical thongs running down and fitting round

the legs (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1980).

Milk-pails were generally made of a soft wood (HW 2581, 2582, 2583,

Lusikisiki, 1935), for example umhlandoti (Albizia adianthifolia (Sim 1907: 214;

Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 553, 1320)).

Milk-pails were amongst the wooden articles carved by most men, although

in every district some men were acknowledged as especially skilled (Hunter

1936: 100) (Fig. 4). Nowadays a wood-carver may use a store-bought drill,

ibola, and chisel, itshesolo, and a wooden mallet. The finishing, witn sandpaper

168 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 4. Mpondo milk-pail carver, 1930s.

(Photograph Mrs Fred Clarke, Umtata).

or by planing with a metal hoop slid up and down the sides, was left to the

buyer. The surface of the pail was protected with a smearing of fat (Libode,

1969).

In 1969 metal billy-cans were replacing wooden milk-pails (Lwandile, 1969).

Bhaca

Although the Bhaca are said to prefer pots and calabashes to wooden

buckets for milk (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 28), a vessel called wmpango made

of umhlongoti wood (Albizia gummifera (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1320))

was seen being used as a milk-pail (Mgungundlovu School, Mt Frere, 1969).

Thembu, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe

No information was obtained.

MORTARS AND PESTLES

Terms: isinghuso—mortar; isintilo—a pestle, stamper (Kropf 1915).

General

In general the mortar is a cylindrical column of wood, roughly 70 cm high

by 25 cm in diameter, partially hollowed out. Grain is put into the hollow and

stamped with a narrow but heavy pestle. The stamping deepens the hollow

and sometimes a stone is set in the cavity to prevent it getting too deep or

wearing through.

Mortars were first mentioned in the literature in 1593, when they were

seen near the Umtata River, ‘millet’ being ground in wooden mortars or between

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 169

stones (Theal 1898: 293). Fox (1939 13: 70) suggests that the use of wooden

mortars and pestles for stamping maize is comparatively recent among the

Southern Nguni.

Xhosa

Mortars for husking grain were made by hollowing out one end of a tree

stump (Fig. 5). Mortars seen in the Kentani district (1969) were made of the

soft white wood umkhiwane (Ficus capensis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1270)). At Tshabo (1969), mortars were bought from stores or from a Coloured

man who turned yellow-wood mortars on a lathe.

Pestles were made of umhleli, a tough, flexible wood (Ehretia rigida (Watt

& Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 149, 1321)) (McLaren 1919: 444).

Fig. 5 Xhosa woman stamping in a wooden mortar,

Kentani, 1971.

170 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Bomvana

A deep cavity was carved in the centre of a log of the umswi tree (Syzygium

cordatum (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 800, 1446)), a fairly hard wood.

Mortars and pestles were used generally by two women stamping opposite

each other in the same mortar (Holt 1969: 223).

Mpondo

A mortar maker at Dikela (Libode, 1969), who used to work for a European

from whom he learnt the technique, made a straight-sided mortar without a

foot. He used mimosa wood (umnga, Acacia karroo (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 1347)), a hard, tough wood (Sim 1907: 212). The pounding hole was

shallow, and would deepen with use. He said that an iron hoop was sometimes

placed round the mouth of a mortar for strengthening. His tools were a store-

bought chisel, itshesolo, a drill, ibola, and a mallet of umkhe wood.

Mortars are made by specialists, but pestles are usually made at the home-

stead. The cost of a mortar was about 50c (Nxukhwube, Libode, 1969).

Mpondomise

Mortars of umkaba wood (umkoba, Podocarpus falcatus/Podocarpus lati-

folius (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1321)), which grows in the near-by

forests, were made by specialists (Mjika, Tsolo, 1969).

Mfengu

Wooden pestles were among the household articles used by Mfengu

women and carried with them when they moved (Alexander 1837 2: 146).

Hlubi

Mortars were used for stamping maize (Miiller 1926: 24).

Xesibe

The mortar seen in the field tapered down from the mouth, but widened

again into a foot at the base. Umkoba (Podocarpus falcatus or Podocarpus

latifolius (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1321)) or umwele (Cliffortia strobili-

fera (Kropf 1915)) were considered equally suitable for making mortars.

A drill, chisel and hammer were used to make the stamping hollow. A wooden

pestle was used with the mortar (Sigidini, Mt Ayliff, 1969).

Bhaca

Wooden mortars, made from hollowed out tree trunks and lined with

stones to prevent wear, were used with wooden pestles (Hammond-Tooke 1962:

28, 42). When turned over, mortars sometimes served a secondary function as

stools (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 128).

The mortars and pestles seen in the field in 1969 (Mt Frere) were not of a

standard shape. In one case a metal pole was used as a pestle (Fig. 6).

Thembu

No information was obtained.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 171

Fig. 6. Bhaca mortar with metal pestle,

Mt Frere, 1969.

SPOONS, SCOOPS, LADLES AND STIRRERS

Terms: ichepe—a chip or any concave article used as a spoon; a spoon; igxebeka—a spoon,

ladle; ubondo/udukudo—a large wooden spoon for stirring food; ukhezo—a wooden spoon;

uzamiso —a porridge-stick; iphini—a stick for stirring porridge (Kropf 1915).

General

The number of terms suggests that a variety of spoon types and specialized

uses were known, but no specific information could be obtained. Nowadays

wooden spoons have been largely replaced by store-bought metal spoons and

other utensils.

Xhosa

Rose (1829: 80) listed wooden and horn spoons among the ‘few’ manu-

factures of the Xhosa. Macdonald (1890: 174) noted that at meal times indi-

vidual portions were taken from a common basin by means of a wooden spoon.

The only specimens seen, termed igxebeka and used for eating milk, were

collected about a hundred years ago. They had deep pear-shaped bowls from

172 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

which the handle, decorated with carving and in one case with branding, curved

(SAM-10917, 10918, Transkei, 1977) (Fig. 7A).

A stirrer with a flat bowl was used for stirring beer and maize meal (Louw

1964: 115).

Thembu

There is no mention of Thembu spoons in the literature but two examples

were seen in the East London Museum. One is double-ended with a shallow

round bowl at one end and a flat spatula at the other. There is a raised and

branded band round the handle below the bowl (EL 209, no locality, no date).

The other specimen is a scoop, with a bowl slightly longer than the handle.

The rim of the bowl and the handle next to it are branded (EL 1001, no locality,

no date).

Bomvana

No information about Bomyana spoons was obtained in the literature or

in the field, but one museum specimen was seen. It is in three planes, with the

deep oval bowl at an angle to the shaped handle which has incised decoration.

There is a groove at the tip of the handle for attaching a hanging cord (NASKO

35/433, Bomvanaland, 1935) (Fig. 7B).

Mpondo

Little information was obtained from the literature, but several types of

spoons were seen in the field and in museum collections. The common term

for a spoon is ichepe, and a spoon for eating sour milk is utiniko.

The bowl and handle may be in the same plane (NASKO 35/456, Mbotyi,

Lusikisiki, 1935) or the bowl may be at an angle to the handle (SAM-9549,

Dikela, Libode, 1969). In either case the bowl may be continuous with the

handle (UCT 34/40, Holy Cross, Flagstaff), or it may be carved so that it

appears to be set on the handle (SAM—9549, Dikela, Libode, 1969).

Fig. 7. Spoons. A. Xhosa spoon for eating milk, Transkei, c. 1877,

SAM-10918. B. Bomvana spoon, Bomvanaland, 1935, NASKO 35/433.

Length 27,5 cm.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 173

The bowls are generally oval (UCT 32/40, Holy Cross, Flagstaff, 1932;

NASKO 35/399, Lusikisiki, 1935) (Fig. 8A), but some are round (NASKO 61/3,

Umtata, 1960) and some are pear-shaped (EL Eth. 4912, Dikela, Libode, 1967;

NASKO 35/456, Lusikisiki, 1935).

The handle may be circular (SAM-9549, Dikela, Libode, 1969), square

(NASKO 35/455, Mbotyi, Lusikisiki, 1935) (Fig. 8B), or half-moon in section

(UCT 32/40, Holy Cross, Flagstaff, 1932), or flat (EL Eth. 4803, Dikela, Libode,

1967). Near the tip of the handle there may be either a hole (EL Eth. 4803,

Dikela, Libode, 1967) or a groove (SAM-9549, Dikela, Libode, 1969) by which

to attach a hanging cord (Fig. 9).

Fiz. 8. Mpondo spoons. A. Holy Cross, Flagstaff, 1932, UCT 32/40. B. Mbotyi,

Lusikisiki, 1935, NASKO 35/455.

174 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 9. Mpondo spoon, Dikela, Libode, 1969, SAM—9549.

A ladle noted, UCT 23/175A (Fig. 10), has a double handle extending in

the same plane from the bowl. The deep bowl is decorated with branded lines.

The spoons do not vary greatly in size. Of the specimens seen, the

total length lay between 28 and 40 cm, and the length of the bowl between

6 and 9 cm. One large example was seen with a 14 cm bowl (NASKO 61/4,

Umtata, 1960).

Decoration is most frequently by branding. A black line may run round

the rim of the bowl (UCT 32/40, Holy Cross, Flagstaff), or dots, often in

pairs, may be branded on part of the handle (NASKO 61/3, Umtata, 1960).

Decorative carving is more rare (UCT 32/40, Holy Cross, Flagstaff). Two

unusual specimens are recorded. One, made in about 1860, has a handle carved

in three sprials (HW 2528, Bizana, 1911). The other is a spoon and stirrer

joined by a chain, carved from a single piece of wood (HW 2527, Nggqeleni,

1919).

Two types of wood were said to have been used, the light umkhiwane

(Ficus capensis (Sim 1907: 307; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 774, 1270))

(SAM-9549, Dikela, Libode, 1969) and the fine-grained wmbomvane (Cassine

crocea (Palmer & Pitman 1972 2: 1319)) (EL Eth. 4912, Dikela, Libode, 1967).

Spoon carving was not a specialist occupation (Hunter 1936: 99).

Spoons and stirring-sticks (SAM—7388, Flagstaff, 1955) were used for

stirring food or beer (NASKO 61/5, Umtata, 1960) and individual spoons were

used for eating (Smith 1955: 93), especially for liquid foods such as amasi,

sour milk (Hunter 1936: 19) (SAM—9549, Dikela, Libode, 1969; NASKO 61/3,

Umtata, 1960; HW 2554, Lusikisiki, 1936; NASKO 8034, Nggeleni, 1939).

Mpondomise

There is no record in the literature and the only specimen seen is a spoon

48,5 cm long, with a handle round in section and a fairly large round bowl,

9,6 cm wide. The rim of the bowl, the carved conical tip and raised carving on a

section of the handle are branded (SAM-6212, Tsolo, 1941) (Fig. 11). The

decoration is like that on some Zulu and Swazi spoons (Figs 58, 82A).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 175

Fig. 10. Mpondo ladle, Cape, 1932, UCT 23/175A.

Fig. 11. Mpondomise spoon, Tsolo, 1941, SAM-6212.

Mfengu

The only example recorded was HW 2509, Ciskei, 1936, and none was seen.

Bhaca

The light wood, umhlongothi (umhlandoti, Albizia adianthifolia (Palmer &

Pitman 1972 2: 729, 730)) may be used to make spoons (Entlabeni, Mt Frere,

1969).

It was said that each man made his own wooden spoon but some more

skilled carvers specialized and sold spoons to others (Hammond-Tooke 1962:

28).

Certain taboos regarding spoons applied to men when eating. A spoon

was to be handed to a man separately, and not placed in the dish when he was

handed food, nor might it be left in an empty plate at the end of a meal. A man

would get a severe pain in the stomach, ivubukulo, if a spoon were used to

spread out hot food (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 43).

Xesibe

No information was obtained.

176 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

STOOLS

Terms: unomggemfulisigobo—(Bomvana) a stool (Holt 1969: 223); isigoqgo/isitulo—

(Mpondo) a stool (Dikela, Libode, 1969); iggemfu—(Mpondo) a stool (NASKO 61/11,

Umtata, 1960).

General

Wooden stools were not a common feature of Southern Nguni culture.

Nineteenth-century writers mention ox skulls being used as seats by the Xhosa

(Campbell 1815: 369; Shaw 1840: 60; Merriman 1853: 32). Long (1947: 213),

however, mentions the use of ‘wooden seats’.

Bomyana

Wooden stools consisted either of a section of tree trunk, with the branches

serving as legs, two on one side and one on the other, or were simply blocks

of wood without legs. Umswi wood (Syzygium cordatum) a fairly hard wood,

was used (Sim 1907: 226; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 800). Both types

have become rare and have been replaced by store-bought furniture (Holt

1969: 223).

Mpondo

Stools are not recorded in the literature but more were seen among the

Mpondo than elsewhere. Two basic types were seen.

Three-legged stools were carved in one piece with the legs extending at

right angles from the edge of the round seat (Fig. 12) (SAM-—9550, Dikela,

Libode, 1969; BM AF 15-17, Pondoland, 1947). Some had a triangular

‘stretcher’ joining the legs at about half their height (EL 4801, Libode, 1967;

NASKO 61/11, Port St Johns, 1960). The legs were either rectangular in section

or a little more than half-moon with a curve on the inside. These stools are

Fig. 12. Mpondo stool, Dikela, Libode, 1969, SAM-9550.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 7/7

quite evidently copied from the European style. They varied in height from

about 26 cm to 37 cm, and the average diameter of the seat was 23 cm. They

were decorated with geometric branded patterns. They are said to have been

made in the first instance for chiefs, but are no longer reserved for them. They

may be carried by the owner to a social gathering.

The second type of stool, of which only one example was seen, was a small

block of wood, more or less rectangular in section, with two short legs (SAM-—

9551, Dikela, Libode, 1969) (Fig. 13). Its height was 13 cm and its length 39 cm.

Soft woods were used, for example wmthombe (Ficus nataliensis (Sim 1907:

308; Watt & Breyer-Brandwiyk 1962: 1325)) (SAM-9551, Dikela, Libode,

1969); wmsenge (Cussonia paniculata/Cussonia spicata (Sim 1907: 229, 230;

Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 116, 117, 1324)) (NASKO 61/11, Port St Johns,

1960), and wmhlongoti (Albizia adianthifolia (Palmer & Pitman 1972 2: 729,

730)) (SAM-9550, Dikela, Libode, 1969).

Stools were made by men, but not necessarily by specialists (Nxukhwube,

Libode, 1969; Ndungunyeni, Lwandile, 1969).

Mpondomise

Three-legged and rectangular stools were seen in use, and specialist makers

were reported to operate in the areas visited (Tshixo and Mjika, Tsolo, 1969).

Bhaca

A rough block of wood often served as a seat (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 40),

and an aloe stem was also seen used as a stool (Entlabeni, Mt Frere, 1969).

A rectangular bench-type of stool with four legs was seen at Lutateneni (Mt

Frere, 1969).

Fig. 13. Mpondo stool, Dikela, Libode, 1969, SAM-9551.

178 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

At Mgungundlovu school, stools were made of any suitable wood

(Mt Frere, 1969).

Xhosa, Thembu, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe

No information was obtained.

TROUGHS

Terms: umkhombe—a wooden trough, hollowed out longitudinally on the upper side of

a log of wood, used for various domestic purposes (Kropf 1915); umhlunguti—a trough

(Dikela, Libode, 1969).

Xhosa

Troughs, made by hollowing out a longitudinal section from a log of

wood were seen at Cat’s Pass and Egqangeni (Kentani, 1969). The latter was

made of isiduli (Brachylaena (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1251)). The

troughs were used for feeding pigs and fowls (Fig. 14).

Mpondo

Troughs, made from a hollowed log like those of the Xhosa, were seen at

Dikela (Libode, 1969). Store-bought chisels, itshesolo, and drills, ibola, and

wooden mallets had been used to hollow them out.

A light, soft wood, umkhiwane (Ficus capensis (Sim 1907: 307; Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 774, 1270)), was used (Dikela, Libode, 1969).

Troughs were used for feeding dogs and fowls (Dikela, Libode, 1969).

Thembu, Bomvana, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

Fig. 14. Xhosa trough for feeding animals, Kentani, 1969.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 179

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

MUSICAL BOWS

Terms: uhadi—a bow-like stringed musical instrument; ingomfiya—(Embo) uhadi;

injikwe —the bow of the uhadi; inkinge—a bow-like stringed instrument; wmrhubhe—a musical

instrument made by bending a piece of stick like a bow, and fastening together the ends with

a plaited piece of thong or rush-string . . . (Kropf 1915).

General

Wood was used for the staves of three types of musical bow, the uwhadi,

the inkinge, and the umrhubhe or umqunge. The stave was strung with twisted

thong, vegetable fibre or wire. A calabash, a tin or the mouth might be used

as resonator.

Xhosa

The Xhosa uhadi had the resonator attached to the middle (Plant 1931:

97) or lower end (Kirby 1934: 198) (SAM-9425, Tshabo, 1968) of the stave,

which might be notched at the tips for the attachment of the string (SAM-9425,

Tsabo, 1968).

The wood used for the bow was commonly the soft wood umbangandlela,

(Heteromorpha arborescens (Sim 1907: 229)) (Kirby 1934: 201).

The uhadi was not made by specialists (Kirby 1934: 201).

It was played by women and girls to accompany quiet singing (Kirby 1934:

202).

The umrhubhe, which used the mouth as resonator, was made from a

length of soft umsenge wood (Cussonia spicata), through the length of which

a pliable rod was inserted (Kirby 1934: 239).

The Xhosa inkinge usually had a reed bow stave (Kirby 1934: 225).

Thembu

The Thembu uwhadi (SAM-6933, Transkei, 1948) conforms to the type

described above. The bow has a circular groove at the lower end and a notch

at the upper end, for attaching the string.

An umqube seen in the field had a bow stave of wattle (Acacia decurrens

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1236)). An inkinge was also noted (Engcobo,

1969).

Bomvyana

A Bomvana inkinge seen was 80 cm long, made of unpolished wood notched

at one end to secure the string. It was played by unmarried girls and women

(EL Eth. 4804, Elliotdale, 1967).

Mpondo

The Mpondo whadi conforms to the general type described above (Fig. 15)

SAM-6681, Lusikisiki, 1948). It was played at night by women (Hunter 1936:

370).

180 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 15. Mpondo musical bow, uhadi, Lusikisiki, 1948, SAM-6681.

The Mpondo were the only group in the 1930s still to use the umqunge,

an earlier type than the wmqube. It had a bow consisting of a single length of

fairly hard*wood (Kirby 1934: 239). It was played by children in the veld

(Hunter 1936: 370).

Mfengu

Kropf gives as Embo (Mfengu) the term ingomfiya to describe the uhadi,

but no further information was obtained.

Mpondomise, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

DRUMS AND STICKS

Terms: igubu—. .. any hollow-sounding thing, such as a bottle; hence a drum, a musical

band (Kropf 1915); amaqoqa—sticks about 2 feet long . . . so named because of the engraving

which ornaments the upper part (Kirby 1934: 21).

General

The only drum recorded until modern times is an ox-hide which was held

out and beaten with sticks.

Xhosa

The only drum formerly known was the inggongqo, played at the abakwetha,

male initiates, dances. This was a dried ox-hide, fastened on poles about a

metre above the ground, or held in one hand by small loops by the performers,

who beat the skin with special sticks, amagoga, held in the other hand. The

amagoga, about 60 cm long, were engraved, except for an undecorated section

where they were held, by the initiates. The drum was played by close female

relatives of the initiates, and was made and used only at these dances, and often

destroyed thereafter. By the 1930s it was falling into disuse, and these reasons

may account for the lack of later field evidence or museum specimens (Kirby

1934: 20, 21, pls 7A—B).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 181

Kirby also records the use of an isigubu, which was made by hollowing out

a section of the trunk of a soft-wooded tree. The cylindrical drum was headed

at both ends with skin. It is suggested that this isigubu was copied from a

European military drum (Kirby 1934: 44, 45).

Thembu

The amagoga drum-sticks, similar in form and function to those of the

Xhosa, were used by the Thembu (Kirby 1934: 21).

Bomvana, Mpondo, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

FLUTES

Terms: ixilongo (Xhosa), ncongolo (Bomvana), umtshingi/ivenge (Mpondo)—long roughly

conical flute with oblique embouchure (Kirby 1934: 112).

Xhosa

The flute was about 75 cm long, conical in shape, and wider at the oblique

embouchure than at the other opening. It was carved from the tough and flexible

umhleli wood (Ehretia rigida (Sim 1907: 279; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

149)) (Kirby 1934: 112).

Bomvyana

The Bomvana ingcongolo (ncongolo (Kirby 1934: 112)) was like the Xhosa

flute described above.

Mpondo

The Mpondo uwmtshingi or ivenge was like the Xhosa flute described above

(Kirby 1934: 112).

Thembu, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Xesibe, Hlubi, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

WHISTLES

Term: impempe—a toy whistle used by boys in dancing or in calling up companions to

help at a fight; it produces a sound like that made by blowing into the barrel of a key (Kropf

1915).

General

The whistle, impempe, described by Kirby (1934: 88, 89, 112), is generally

made of reed, but one wooden specimen was seen.

Bomyana

A specimen seen of a Bomvana whistle, imphemphe, consists of two pieces

of hollowed wood of differing lengths, about 8 cm and 7 cm, and about 2,5 cm

in diameter (EL Eth. 5308, Mqanduli, 1967).

Xhosa, Thembu, Mpondo, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

182 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

WIND-STRING INSTRUMENTS (GoR4)

Term: ugwali—an instrument made of the fibres of sinew on a bow of wood with a quill,

flattened on one side, to give greater elasticity (Kropf 1915).

Xhosa

The gora was played by the Xhosa (Alberti 1811: 165, 166; Campbell 1815:

368; Fleming 1856: 225), who termed it uwgwali (Kirby 1934: 188). It consisted

of a straight or slightly curved stave, about 90 cm long and 1,5 cm in diameter,

strung with sinew which was attached to a piece of flattened and trimmed quill

at one end of the stave. The stave might be of wood or reed (Kirby 1934: 188).

Mpondo

The uwgwali was known to the Mpondo, but by the 1930s had been super-

seded by European musical instruments (Hunter 1936: 370).

Thembu, Bomvana, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

PERSONAL OBJECTS

NECKLACES

Term: ikhubalo—a generic term for various roots used as ornaments and charms, which

were tied up in a blanket or strung up as a necklace, to ward off evils or secure good; plural:

ornaments, jewels (Kropf 1915).

General

Several early writers mention the use of wood in necklaces, and many

museum specimens were seen. However, the division between necklaces as

ornaments or as charms is not easy to make (Kay 1833: 116).

Xhosa

Both men and women wore long necklaces consisting of, amongst other

things, small pieces of sweet-scented wood (Alexander 1837: 387; Lichtenstein

1928: 338; Alberti 1811: 59; Kay 1833: 116; Norbury 1880: 9). Kay specified the

wood as cedar wood, but as there are no cedar trees in the area (Sim 1907: 338),

it is probable that he was referring to the sweet-scented wood umthombothi

(Spirostachys africanus (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 436)), which was

used for charms and for ornamental necklaces. In the latter case small strips

of wood were neatly carved into thin, short sticks and strung together (Elliot

1970: 25) (SAM-10920, Cape, 1877) (Fig. 16).

Thembu

A Thembu example of the umthombothi necklace consists of pencil-thin

lengths of wood strung with large beads on a leather thong (SAM-974, Herschel,

1907) (Fig. 17).

Bomvana, Mpondo, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 183

: :

§ 3)

b >

;

Fig. 16. Xhosa tambuti-wood necklace, Transkei, c. 1877, SAM-10920.

ARMBANDS

Term: umxhaka—a ring of ivory worn on the upper arm as a sign of distinction (Kropf

1915).

Bomvyana

Wooden armbands, imixhaka yomthi, painted white and made in imitation

of ivory armbands, were worn by initiates (Cook 1931: 60) (NASKO ET

35/383 E, Elliotdale, 1935) (Fig. 18).

Xhosa, Thembu, Mpondo, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

184 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 17. Thembu tambuti-wood necklace,

Herschel, 1907, SAM-974.

Fig. 18. Bomyana initiate’s armband,

Elliotdale, 1935, NASKO Et. 35/383 E.

Diameter c. 12 cm.

PENIS SHEATHS

Terms: isidla sokuggishela—the penis covering, usually of cloth, but often consisting of an

empty calabash or the empty husk of some fruit; without this covering the Kafir would be

ashamed, but with it he considers himself clothed ; inxiba—the penis cap (Kropf 1915); incitsho—

(Bhaca) penis sheath (Hammond-Tooke 1955: 17); igoyi—(Bhaca) penis box (Kohler in

Hammond-Tooke 1962: 81).

General

Penis sheaths were worn by the Southern Nguni, but were generally made

of other materials. Carved wooden penis sheaths are recorded for one group

only.

Bhaca

Penis sheaths of carved wood were amongst the types worn by Bhaca men

(Kohler in Hammond-Tooke 1962: 81). No examples were seen.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 185

PIPES

Terms: ingawa—a tobacco pipe; ingcaphe—the mouth-piece of a pipe for smoking;

iximeya/iximheya—the mouth-piece of a tobacco pipe; inxindeba/inxindebe/inxineba—the tip

of a tobacco pipe, usually made from box-thorn, wmbhovu; ukutyhida—to inlay lead or other

metal or ivory in wood or stone, especially used of inlaying pipe bowls; umtyhidi—one who

inlays pipe bowls (Kropf 1915); igqudu—pipe (Kentani, 1969); umbhekaphesheya—pipe with

a bowl set at an obtuse angle to the stem (Gitywa 1971: 133).

General

It is not yet established when or from what source the Southern Nguni

became acquainted with tobacco smoking, but tobacco was among the crops

noted in the seventeenth century by the survivors of the Stavenisse (Godée

Molsbergen 1922: 67). According to the earliest references (Van der Kemp 1804:

438; Anonymous 1832: 145), the Xhosa used water pipes of wood and horn for

smoking tobacco. Wooden pipes similar in shape to European clay pipes,

but with a bigger bowl and straight stem about 14 cm long, are mentioned as

early as 1811 by Alberti (1811: 42). The wooden pipes of a certain period,

which seems to have been the end of the nineteenth to the early part of the

twentieth centuries, show a high degree of artistic as well as technical develop-

ment. Pipe stems, and more particularly the bowls, were carved in many con-

ventional and naturalistic shapes (Shaw 1938, pls 91-98).

Pipe smoking is widely practised today.

Xhosa

Many nineteenth-century writers comment on the high standard of work-

manship of Xhosa wooden pipes (Alexander 1837: 394; Shaw 1840: 59; Fleming

S532 112):

The pipes were generally straight stemmed with the bowl more or less

at right angles to the stem. In shape they resembled Dutch clay pipes (Kropf

1889a: 115), and were presumably copied from them. Gitywa (1971: 130-137)

gave a detailed account of the making of pipes and the way in which they

differed according to the sex, age and status of the owner. Women’s pipes had

taller, narrower bowls 6-8 cm high, and longer stems, 18-30 cm (Fig. 19),

while men’s pipes were shorter and had shallower but wider bowls. Within

these differences, old men and women and diviners used pipes with the longest

stems. ‘

Another pipe of a rather extraordinary shape was the iklam. It was

U-shaped with the bow] at right angles to the curving stem, for which a separate

horn mouth-piece was made. It was said to be an old shape and used only by

men, particularly horse-riders (Tshabo and Kentani, 1969).

Smith (c. 1824-5: 287, 288) recorded that a pipe was made from a forked

tree stem. The bowl was hollowed out of a section of one branch, and a hole

was branded through the other, about 23 cm long, which formed the stem of

the pipe. Other writers stated that the pipe was carved from a solid piece of

wood (Fleming 1856: 202; Kropf 1889a: 115), a practice wnich continues today.

186 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

* : te om ‘eet 3 , he,

; ” fh BN / ~ yf oC

\. 4 MJ ‘ \ fee #

ag 2 G < ae A és 0

Us WO S

3 Ks Y

. \ + ; Peis,

\ \ \ f = “ts ee

: 4 ced - \ . AN

e fy A ey <¥ R la & Mest

4 Dv. 2 1 2 five {oN oy / al ~ ee al

“A BE ec cash oy, d vied =S / Nd we yaa a

by sone chee 20. Tae ia a ad

Fig. 19. Xhosa woman with long pipe, Kentani, 1971.

The following description is taken from field records at Kentani and

Tshabo, 1969, supplemented by Gitywa’s account (1971: 130-137). The tree

was felled, or a suitable branch was cut, with an axe, or nowadays a saw, and

cut into logs of the required length. Some people allowed the logs to dry out

for about two weeks before working on them either on the spot or at home.

The dried logs were split down the middle so that four pipes could be obtained

from a log, two from each half. The pipes were roughly shaped with an axe,

the stem following the grain of the wood. A bore was then made through the

stem. Previously it was burnt through, but more recently it has teen drilled.

A store-bought drill and bits, with additional home-made bits or home-made

wire drills of different lengths might be used (Fig. 20). The term ibola was

recorded for both the bit and the wire drill. To facilitate the work, unsalted fat

might be applied to the tips of the drills. During the drilling the pipe might be

held between the knees, or in one hand, or nowadays even in a vice if one is

available. The bore goes the full length of the stem, leaving a hole at one or

both ends. If there was a hole at the bowl-end, it was expertly plugged with a

piece of the same wood. At the mouth end the bore was made slightly larger in

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 187

Fig. 20. Present-day Xhosa pipemaker’s tools, and rough-hewn pipe,

Kentani, 1969.

diameter than the rest, in order to hold the separate mouth-piece. Smith

(c. 1824-5: 287, 288) recorded that the mouth-piece was a piece of reed, but

wooden mouth-pieces were also used.

Next, the inside of the bowl was hollowed out, until it converged with the

bore, although it might be carved first to avoid plugging and the possibility of

leakage of air. Store-bought or home-made chisels (isixholo = a chisel) or a

small drill might be used. The size of the hollow was gauged by inserting a

wooden peg, isikhonkwane, or the thumb. A prospective buyer might measure

the pipe bowl with his thumb, and a pipemaker might ask to see the thumb of

the customer from whom he had an order.

When the bowl hollow and the bore had been completed, the whole pipe

was whittled down to its final size with a knife, or first an axe and then a knife

and a rasp. A spur, similar to the spur on the bowl of a clay pipe, might be

carved at the bottom of the bowl. According to Gitywa (1971: 132) this gave

the pipe its Xhosa distinctiveness. It was, however, also noted on Mpondo,

Mpondomise and Thembu pipes. The pipe was finally smoothed with a piece

of glass and sandpaper. To prevent the wood from cracking, the pipe was

greased with animal fat. Pig fat was not used, as this was said to cause cracking

(Tshabo, 1969; Kentani, 1969). Greasing also gave the pipe a dark colour

which was preferred (Gitywa 1971: 130).

The inside of the bowl was lined with tin to prevent charring. A piece of

tin was cut, wound around the isikhonkwane, and this was pushed into the

pipe bowl. The tin might also be pushed into position with the handle of a

188 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

pair of scissors or pliers. The metal cut was sufficiently long for a piece the

size of the thickness of the rim to jut above the bowl. A small cut was made

at one point to enable the metal to be bent over the rim and a small V-shaped

cleft to result. The pipe-maker ensured that this cleft was on the left side for

a right-handed smoker, and vice versa, in order to protect the uncovered part

of the pipe while it was being lit (Gitywa 1971: 132).

The pipe-maker did not usually make the mouth-pieces, though he might

make ones of horn for the iklam pipe (Tshabo, 1969). The new owner usually

made his own and very often used a twig of umthathi wood (Ptaeroxylon obli-

quum (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1324)), bored and shaped to fit (Gitywa

1971: 132), although Kropf mentions the use of umbhovu (Lycium sp. (Watt

& Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1319)).

Xhosa pipes might be decorated by carving (Soga 1937: 238) or metal

inlay (Fleming 1853: 112, Fleming 1856: 203; Kropf 1889: 115). The inlay

decoration was done by carving conventional patterns on the bowl, placing the

pipe in sand and running heated lead into the carving. The inlay was then

neatened and smoothed with a knife, and polished in the hand or against a

blanket (Fleming 1856: 203).

The wood almost invariably used for pipe-making was the dark, hard and

heavy Acacia caffra, umnyamanzi or umthole (Sim 1907: 211; Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1323, 1325) (Kentani, 1969; Tshabo, 1969). Mature wood was

sought (Tshabo, 1969) (Gitywa 1971: 130) and the wood of the roots was

preferred as it is more durable and darker and richer in colour (Kentani, 1969)

(Gitywa 1971: 130).

Pipes were made by men specialists (Tshabo, 1969; Kentani, 1969) (Gitywa

1971: 130). An early reference stated that pipes were often given away as

presents, but that a pipe with metal inlay work might be paid for with a calf

(Kropf 1889a: 115). More recently a chicken or a kid may pay for a pipe (Gitywa

1971: 135). Social and kinship ties and a principle of reciprocity rule the sale

of pipes, which is consequently not always purely an economic transaction

(Gitywa 1971: 135). The pipe-maker may, however, make use of a middleman

in the village, or may sell his pipes through a local trader (Gitywa 1971: 135).

Gitywa (1971: 134, 135) mentions several ritual and symbolic uses of the

Xhosa pipe. During the ceremonies for the initiation of a diviner, members of

a procession to the river to ask the blessing of the river spirits were given a

little tobacco which they smoked in the traditional pipes. After this, offerings,

including tobacco, were given to the river. The sharing of tobacco and quiet

smoking created warmer social relations, which were shared both by the

members of the procession and by the river spirits. During a rite to purify a

kraal after it had been struck by lightning, special tobacco was smoked in

traditional Xhosa pipes by members of the family concerned.

A pipe was among the personal possessions of an individual and as such

was buried with him (Soga 1932: 320).

A Xhosa pipe is considered an essential part of full traditional Xhosa

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 189

costume, and when in such dress a European pipe is not acceptable (Gitywa

1971: 135).

Thembu

Tobacco pipes used by the Thembu were similar to those of the Xhosa.

The same variety of stem-length and bowl-size was noted, as well as examples

of the iklam type (Fig. 21A). A collection of pipes made in the Cala district in

the 1930s shows a variety of decoration, by carving naturalistic and conventional

designs on the bowl and stem (Fig. 21B), and by metal inlay (Fig. 21C). Other

Thembu pipes noted were decorated by the same means, as well as with bead-

work (SAM-6929, Transkei, 1871-86; SAM-8845, Herschel, 1962).

No information was obtained, however, on the woods used, the manu-

facture, or specialized use of these pipes.

Bomyana

The Bomyana used long-stemmed pipes, which were made with store-

bought tools, and tin from tin cans was used for the lining of the bowl. The

completed pipes were often sold by traders (Holt 1969: 222).

Mpondo

According to information obtained at Ngqeleni (1969) the shape and

manufacture of Mpondo pipes did not differ in any significant way from that

of Xhosa pipes. Men’s pipes were shorter in the stem and had shorter and

wider bowls than women’s pipes. Boys used an intermediate size with a small

bowl (Nggeleni, 1969).

A tree was felled and sawn into pipe-size lengths. A greased drill, ibola,

consisting of a length of wire set in a wooden handle, was used to bore the

stem. The bore was made right through the bowl, and the resulting hole was

plugged with a piece of matching wood. The pipe bowl was hollowed out with

a gouge and chisel, isixholo. A spur might be carved at the bottom of the bowl

(SAM-9751, Ngqeleni, 1969). A knife was used for the final shaping of the

pipe, and previously a sharp knife was used for the smoothing, now done with

sandpaper. The bowl was lined with tin which was positioned with a wooden

peg-like tool, umthi we bekile, which might also be used in gauging the depth

of the bowl. The tin was cut about | cm shorter than the bowl in order not to

block the stem. It was then bent over the rim of the bowl and a few holes were

pierced through it to prevent it riding up.

The mouth-piece was made by the buyer of the pipe.

Umnyamanzi wood (Acacia caffra (Sim 1907: 210; Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1323)) was used. The dark parts of the stem or above-ground

roots of mature trees were preferred (Ngqeleni, 1969). ,

According to Bodley (1891: 237) and Hunter (1936: 102), Mpondo pipe-

bowls might be decorated with metal inlay work.

190 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 21. Thembu pipes. A. /klam-type pipe, Cala, 1935, SAM—10304.

B. Pipe with carved decoration, Cala, 1935, SAM-—10291. C. Pipe with

metal inlay decoration, Cala, 1935, SAM—10286.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 191

Pipe-makers were male specialists (Hunter 1936: 102) (Ngqeleni, 1969).

The craft was not always passed down within a family—in one case the pipe-

maker had learnt from a Xhosa man (Ngqeleni, 1969).

The price of pipes was determined by the length of the stem which might

be measured in fists. Four fists was the usual length and, in 1969, 20c was

charged per two fists (Ngqeleni, 1969).

Mpondomise

Mpondomise pipes were similar in shape, and presumably also in manu-

facture, to Xhosa pipes.

Women’s pipes seen in museum collections measured from 25 cm (EL

Eth. 5430, Tsolo, 1969) to 34,2 cm (SAM-9582, Tsolo, 1969) in length, with

bowls from 7 cm to 8,5 cm high. Mouth-pieces were separate. One example

had two mouth-pieces attached by beaded cords (SAM-5828, Tsolo, 1937)

(Fig. 22). The stem might be beaded (SAM-5828, Tsolo, 1937; EL Eth. 5430,

Tsolo, 1969).

Umnyamanzi wood (Acacia caffra (Sim 1907: 210; Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1323)) might be used (EL Eth. 5430, Tsolo, 1969).

Mfengu

Long tobacco pipes with separate wooden mouth-pieces, sometimes

beaded, were used by Mfengu women (Soto township, King William’s Town,

1971).

cpree ttee eet

eee Bo

hare

, y —\

—_ Le ~~, }

CM. 4

— _ as

Fig. 22. Mpondomise pipe, Tsolo, 1937, SAM—5828.

192 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Hlubi

Snuff-taking was said to be more common than smoking among the

Hlubi (Hunter 1936: 412). None the less, a museum specimen of a fine Hlubi

pipe (DC 780, no locality, no date) was seen. It was of the iklam type, with a

stem carved in two planes, almost at right angles, and a deep bowl lined with

tin. The stem had decorative carving, and the bowl was decorated with lead

inlay in a geometric pattern (Fig. 23).

Bhaca

A few men carved ornamental pipes, but long-stemmed pipes similar to

those of the Xhosa were not made (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 28). Smokers

generally used short pipes with fairly deep bowls bought from Xhosa craftsmen

(Mt Frere, 1969), or western-type store-bought pipes (Hammond-Tooke 1962:

28). Most Bhaca, however, are snuff-takers and do not smoke tobacco

(Hammond-Tooke 1962: 28).

Xesibe

No information was obtained.

SNUFF-BOXES

Term: ighaga—any small box or case which is carried on the person; hence a snuff-box

(Kropf 1915).

General

The taking of snuff is widespread among the southern Nguni, more

especially among the eastern tribes. Snuff-containers are made of a variety of

materials. The use of carved wood was, however, not often recorded.

g a eel

Fig. 23. Hlubi ik/lam-type pipe with metal inlay

decoration, DC 780.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 193

Xhosa

The only example seen of a Xhosa snuff-box carved out of wood consists

of two small containers 6,5 cm and 6,7 cm long, with openings of about 1 cm,

carved in an acorn-shape and joined by a carved wooden chain. The whole

object is carved from a single piece of Schotia wood, and is said to have belonged

to the Xhosa chief Kreli (c. 1818-92) (EL Eth. 4188, no locality, no date).

Thembu, Bomvana, Mpondo, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

SNUFF-SPOONS

Terms: ingcaphe—(Embo) a little snuff-spoon; ingcebetsha—(Embo) snuff-spoon;

intshengula—(Embo) snuff-spoon (Kropf 1915); intshaza—(Mpondo) snuff-spoon (Shaw &

Van Warmelo 1948).

General

Snuff-spoons were used to scoop snuff from its container and to carry it

to the nose.

Xhosa

Small wooden snuff-spoons, sometimes attached to the neck of a calabash

snuff-box, were used to take snuff (Hallbeck & Fritsch 1827: 306; Fleming

1853: 112). The only specimen seen (UCT 39/2, Cape, 1939) (Fig. 24) is 12,8 cm

long and carved in light wood in a curved spatulate shape, similar to horn

snuff-spoons (Davison 1976: 93). None was seen in the field.

Thembu

Snuff-spoons carved out of wood were recorded at Engcobo (1969).

Mpondo

Wooden snuff-spoons, carved of intsinde wood (Randia rudis (Sim 1907:

236; Kropf 1915)), were worn through the ear at Libode in 1969.

A carver of snuff-spoons at Port St Johns in 1974 used wood as well as

bone.

Mpondomise, Mfengu, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

Fig. 24. Xhosa snuff-spoon, Cape, 1939, UCT 39/2

194 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

WEAPONS

CLUBS

Terms: ibhunguza—a cudgel with a large head and short handle, a knobkerrie with a

large knob for throwing at game; iggebha—a knobkerrie; igqgola—a stick with a big knob, a

club; igqudu—a short stick with a big knob; dimin. igqudwana; induku—a knobbed stick or

club for throwing at game or for fighting; injikijane—a short, large knobbed stick; umvingi—a

club; umgweba—a small short stick with an oblong knob to throw with; isikhanda—the thick

end of any thing: isikhanda senduku, the knob of a stick, so called because it is used to strike

with (Kropf 1915); iquku—a club (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1980); igakathi—(Mpondo) club

(Libode, 1969); igweba—(Bhaca) a club (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 25); isagweba—(Xesibe)

a club (Mt Ayliff, 1969).

General

Clubs formed a standard part of a man’s set of weapons, and were used in

hunting, in combat and in the games of youths.

Xhosa

The Xhosa club, induku, consisted basically of a stick from 60 cm to

90 cm long (Carter 1927: 23; Paravicini di Capelli 1965: 139; Barrow 1806:

154; Alberti 1811: 189; Von Winkelman 1932: 71; King 1853: 170; McKay

1871: 94; Fritsch 1872: 66), from 2 cm to 3 cm in diameter (Paravicini di

Capelli 1965: 139; Alberti 1811: 189), headed with a round knob the size of a

fist (Alberti 1811: 189; Barrow 1806: 154). More recently it is said to have been

decreed that the knob be small enough to go into a man’s mouth (Louw 1964:

98).

The head might be fluted (Soga 1832: 313) but more often it was carved

and polished to a smooth round knob (SAM-261, Cape, 1902; SAM-—2669,

Cape, no date).

A hide band might strengthen the point just below the knob, and a thong to

hang the club on the wrist might be passed through a hole in the butt (SAM-985,

Herschel, 1908).

The butt-end of the haft might be incised in a decorative cross-hatched or

lozenge pattern, which gave a better grip (?C. D. Bell c. 1834-45 (Fig. 25

herein);McLaren 1919: 445). Wire might be bound around the handle as

decoration (HW 2016, no locality, 1931).

The clubs were sometimes made from the root end of a tree stem, the

root forming the head (Barrow 1806: 154; King 1853: 170; Fleming 1853: 102).

me &, -

SLRS Hee Soe . at eo sage ac ah TS no ina eases

Fig. 25. Southern Nguni club, ?C. D. Bell c. 1834-45, drawing.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 195

Clubs were made of a hard wood (Beutler 1922: 307; Fleming 1853: 102). The

woods used were: ‘wild olive’ (Olea africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1238)) (King 1853: 170; Fleming 1853: 102; Fritsch 1872: 66), ‘assegai wood’

(Curtisia dentata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1200, 1380)) (Fleming 1853:

102), ‘Kaffrarian pear’ (Pyrus Africana) (Fleming 1853: 102), ‘stink wood’

(Ocotea bullata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1419)) (Fritsch 1872: 66),

‘iron wood’ (Linociera foveolata/Olea capensis/Olea laurifolia|Vepris lanceolata

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1214)) (Fritsch 1872: 66), or Cassine aethiopica

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 177).

Clubs were used in hunting. They were thrown, especially by herd boys

(Alexander 1837: 388) to bring down birds and small game (Beutler 1922: 307;

Barrow 1806: 154; Thompson 1827: 361; Carmichael 1831: 288; Alexander

1835: 395; King 1853: 170). The club was held by the stick-end and thrown

with a twirling motion towards the prey. According to Fleming (1853: 102),

the stick struck the ground just short of the prey, on to which the knob then

came down heavily. This was a skill developed by boys in some of their games

(Soga 1932: 307, 308). Animals could be struck from a distance of 20 or 30 m

(Carmichael 1831: 288; Fleming 1853: 102). To kill reptiles the weapon was

not thrown, but was used at close range (Fleming 1853: 103).

In fighting, both in personal quarrels and in war, the club was used as a

weapon for attack and defence (Alberti 1810: 188; Fleming 1853: 103; McKay

1871: 94; Soga 1932: 77, 313).

Clubs were given to initiates at the beginning of the initiation ceremonies,

when they were instructed to use them in defence of the tribe (Alberti 1811: 75;

Elliot 1970: 84). These clubs were burnt at the end of the ceremonies, and the

initiates were given new ones blackened by smoke from the hut fires (Elliot

1970: 92).

Thembu

The Thembu replaced the striking power of the prohibited large-headed

clubs with metal-studded small heads, which are, however, also now forbidden

(Louw 1964: 98) (HW 2010, 2011, Umtata, 1897). The butt may be decorated

with cross-hatching (SAM-6950, Cape, 1871).

Hard, heavy woods were used, for example umnquma (Olea africana (Watt

& Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1419)) (SAM-6950, Cape, 1871), or umzane (Vepris

lanceolata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1326)) (Engcobo, 1969). The wood

may be cut by the customer and taken to the specialist carver. The completed

article, with cross-hatched decoration, may cost R1,00 (Engcobo, 1969).

Bomvana

The Bomvana club, termed iquku, has changed in shape. It was formerly

short-stemmed with a very large head, sometimes studded with nails, but today

has a long haft with a relatively small knob (Holt 1969: 222). Museum specimens

seen varied from 80 cm to 106 cm in length, with heads from about 8 cm to

196 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 26. Bomvana club, Elliotdale, 1948, SAM-6676.

10 cm in diameter (SAM-6671-6677, Elliotdale, 1948), and included two clubs

with nail-studded heads (SAM-6676, 6677, Elliotdale, 1948) (Fig. 26).

The heads may be decorated with longitudinal grooves (SAM-6671-6673,

6675, Elliotdale, 1948). The stems may be cross-hatched at the grip (SAM-6671,

6672, 6675-6677, Elliotdale, 1948).

Mpondo

Mpondo clubs seen in museum collections were generally 1 m long, the

shortest being 61,5 cm (SAM-7369, Flagstaff, 1955) and the longest 115 cm

(SAM-9560, Libode, 1969). The diameter of the head may vary from 8 cm, in

an oblong-headed specimen (SAM-—7396, Flagstaff, 1955), to 11,5 cm for a

round head (SAM-7390, Flagstaff, 1955) (Fig. 27A).

The hafts may be plain, without the tree bark removed (SAM-9561-9562,

Libode, 1969), or roughly hewn (SAM-7391, 7398, Flagstaff, 1955), or smoothed

and polished (SAM-—7390, 7395, Flagstaff, 1955).

The butt-end of the hafts may be cross-hatched to give a better grip (SAM-—

7393, 7395, 7397, Flagstaff, 1955). Another device for an improved hold is a

band of skin bound either round the butt (SAM-7393, Flagstaff, 1955) or the

middle of the haft (SAM-—7396, Flagstaff, 1955).

The butt of the haft may be sharply pointed (SAM-7389, Flagstaff, 1955).

This is done by the maker according to the customer’s specifications (SAM-—

9560, Libode, 1969) (Fig. 27B).

The head of the club may be round (SAM-7390, 7394, 7398, Flagstaff,

1955), or oblong (SAM-7395, 7397, Flagstaff, 1955; SAM-9560, Libode, 1969).

In either case it may be carved with longitudinal grooves (SAM-—7396-7397,

Flagstaff, 1955; SAM—9560, Libode, 1969). In one specimen seen, the head is

flattened on two side faces (SAM-—9651, Libode, 1969). The head may be carved

off-centre (SAM-9562, Libode, 1969). For a more fearsome and illegal weapon,

the head may be studded with metal nails arranged in a pattern (SAM-7393,

Flagstaff, 1955).

The incising on the haft has both a decorative and a utilitarian function,

but the decoration may be secondary since the pattern carved is rarely very

even. The club may be decorated with bands of coloured plastic, rubber, brass

or metal wire (SAM-7394-7396, Flagstaff, 1955). This also has a utilitarian as

well as decorative function in that it strengthens the haft.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 197

San

Fig. 27. Mpondo clubs. A. Club, Flagstaff, 1955, SAM-7390. B. Club with

unfinished butt, Libode, 1969, SAM-9560.

198 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Umtunzi wood (Mimusops caffra/Mimusops obovata (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1325)), a close-grained and tough wood (Sim 1907: 254, 255),

was used for one example seen (SAM-9560, Libode, 1969).

When making a club the head may be carved first, and thereafter the shaft

may be shaped (Mevana, Libode, 1969).

Clubs were used by the Mpondo for hunting (Libode, 1969) and by youths

for stick fighting (Hunter 1936: 160) (Libode, 1969). They are not the traditional

war weapons (Hunter 1936: 407).

Mpondomise

Two examples of Mpondomise clubs seen are about 1 m in length, with

round heads about 9 cm in diameter. The head of one was smooth (SAM-6987,

Qumbu, 1948) and the other was carved with longitudinal grooves (UCT 23/171,

Cape, 1961). The haft of one was cross-hatched at the grip end (SAM-6987,

Qumbu, 1948) (Fig. 28).

Mfengu

The head of the Mfengu club may be carved in facets (HW 2017, no

locality, 1930).

Clubs were used by boys for hunting (Louw 1964: 99).

Xesibe

A field informant termed his club isagweba. It was made from a section

of tree stem with the root of the tree attached, so that the root formed the

head. Umngquma wood (Olea africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1323))

had been used. The club had been made by the owner who had used an abrasive

stone to smooth the surface (Mt Ayliff, 1969).

Bhaca

The Bhaca term for a club is iqweba. Clubs were thrown by boys when

hunting small animals and were used by men in organized hunting. The men,

with their dogs, formed a line and moved across the veld, and game caught by

the dogs was clubbed (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 25).

Hlubi

No information was obtained.

casse

Fig. 28. Mpondomise club, Qumbu, 1948, SAM-6987.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 199

SPEAR-SHAFTS

Terms: umkhonto—a spear, assegai; isikhwili/ukhwili—a sharp pointed stick, shaped like

an assegai used by boys; ukhande—a wooden spear; ixokama—the joint where the blade of an

assegai is joined to the shaft (Kropf 1915).

General

Because of the general shortage of iron (this series Part 4, in preparation),

it is probable that many people among the Southern Nguni used wooden spears.

These were seen near the Bashee River in the sixteenth century and were described

as ‘wooden pikes with their points hardened in the fire’ (Theal 1898: 225).

When iron was available, however, spear-heads were inserted into wooden

shafts.

Xhosa

Metal-headed spears with wooden shafts were widely used when iron

became more easily obtainable. The shaft, wluti (McLaren 1919: 444), was

long, thin and tapering, the total length of the spear being about 150 cm (Ren-

shaw 1804: 19; Barrow 1806: 154; Carmichael 1831: 288; Stout 1810: 18; Alberti

1811: 187; Lichtenstein 1811: 455; Moodie 1835: 248; Alexander 1837: 388;

Fleming 1856: 209). The average diameter of the head of the shaft, which

tapered from head to butt, was 1,5 cm (Alberti 1811: 187; Fleming 1856: 209;

McLaren 1919: 444).

The wood commonly used was umgixa, assegai wood (Curtisia faginea

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1380)). This is a heavy, durable wood which

is remarkable in that it shrinks very little (Sim 1907: 231). Also used were

umngabaza (Grewia occidentalis (Sim 1907: 147; Kropf 1915: 280; Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1027; Gitywa 1971: 142)), isiduli (Eugenia zeyheri)

(Gitywa 1971: 142), wmlungumabele (Fagara capensis or Fagara davyi (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1322)) (Gitywa 1971: 142), and the tough and flexible

Ehretia rigida (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 149).

The maker of the shaft was also responsible for fitting the metal head

(McLaren 1919: 443). The shaft was split open, about 4 cm of the tang of the

head was inserted, and fixed with melted wax (Alberti 1811: 188) or with the

resin, itywina, obtained by heating the roots of either the candlewood tree,

ibolo (Pterocelastrus tricuspidatus (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1431)) (Sim

1907: 188; McLaren 1919: 444), or ixalanxa (Hypoxis obliqua (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 41)) (McLaren 1919: 444). The tang might also be fixed with

finely ground soot mixed with aloe juice, considered by Gitywa to be the more

traditional method, or with sulphur (1971: 142). The insertion point, ixokama,

was then tightly bound with vegetable fibre cord (Alberti 1811: 188; Smith

c. 1824-5), possibly the root fibre of uwmtane (Dioscorea continifolia (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 384, 1385)), dried sinews (Fleming 1856: 209; McLaren

1919: 444; Gitywa 1971: 142) or dried intestine (Fleming 1856: 209), or it was

secured by a sheath of ox or antelope tail-skin (Smith c. 1824-5; Shaw &

Van Warmelo 1974: 181). The shaft was balanced, and was made pliable by

200 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

being held over a fire and hand-manipulated. It was tested, vavanya, by the

buyer, who put his personal mark, intlabo, on his spear (McLaren 1919: 444).

When in close combat spears were required as stabbing weapons, either

the head was broken from the shaft (Alexander 1837: 389), or the shaft was

broken off short (Moodie 1888: 275).

Wooden spears were used by initiates during their seclusion period, as an

amusement and as training in the use of the weapon (Kay 1833: 76).

At the burial of someone struck by lightning, his spears were taken apart,

the heads were claimed by the doctor and the shafts were laid on the grave, and

earth was heaped on top of them (Soga 1932: 215).

Thembu

The length of shaft seen varied from 82 cm (SAM-6944, Transkei, 1871)

to 137 cm (SAM-6947, Transkei, 1871). The diameter of the shaft averages

1,3 cm at the top, and tapers to an average of 0,5 cm at the tip. The shaft is

roughly circular in section. The spear-head may be secured to the shaft by a

tail-skin sheath (SAM-6937, 6940, 6942, 6947, Transkei, 1871), or bound with

sinew (Fig. 29A) (SAM-6938, 6941, 6945, 6947, Transkei, 1871), or with sinew

and wire (SAM-6939, Transkei, 1871).

Bomvana

Before the advent of European iron, the Bomvana used wooden spears

with points hardened in a fire (Holt 1969: 223).

An example of a metal-headed spear (SAM-6665, Elliotdale, 1948) has a

tapering shaft 143 cm long. The spear-head is secured by a tail-skin sleeve.

Mpondo

The two specimens in the South African Museum collection have shafts

circular in section and 108 cm and 68 cm long respectively (SAM-—7399, Flag-

staff, 1955; SAM-—9558, Libode, 1969). The former tapers, the latter does not.

In both cases the spear-head is attached to the shaft by a skin sheath (Fig. 29B).

A cow’s tail or monkey’s leg may be put on while wet, and left to dry and

shrink for a tight fit (Libode, 1969). One specimen had a skin sheath on the

butt of the shaft as well (SAM-9558, Libode, 1969), possibly for repair or

strengthening.

The shaft, induka, may be made of a light wood, uwzingati (SAM-9558,

Libode, 1969).

Hlubi

A collection of spears at the South African Museum is said to have belonged

to Langalibalele (SAM-—6647, Lesotho border, 1947). The shafts vary in length

from 105 cm to 133,8 cm. They taper from a diameter of about 1,5 cm at the

top to about 0,5 cm at the butt.

In one specimen the spear-head is secured to the shaft with vegetable-fibre

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 201

Fig. 29. Spear-shafts. A. Sinew binding on Thembu spear-shaft, Transkei, 1871, SAM-6941.

B. Tail-skin sheath on Mpondo spear-shaft, Flagstaff, 1955, SAM-—7399. C. Sinew binding

on Hlubi spear-shaft, Lesotho border, 1947, SAM-6647.

cord woven in a criss-cross pattern, but in all other cases the joint is bound

with sinew (Fig. 29C).

Mpondomise, Mfengu, Xesibe, Bhaca

No information was obtained.

STICKS

Terms: intonga—a stick used as a weapon of assault or defence, hence, a weapon;

umrholo—a long stick of the olive tree (umnquma) which is usually carried bound up with a

bundle of assegais, used for first defence; umngayi—Eleodendron velutinum, a forest tree

furnishing the long pointed stick, without a knob, used as a weapon in single conflict, and

held high above the head in dancing; the stick itself; dimin. umngayana a small stick; umsi-

melelo—a long stick to lean upon for support in walking; a staff; isagweba/isigweba—a small,

short stick, which need not have a knob; umkhuba—a strong stick or staff; ugogo—a strong

crooked stick; udondolo—a long walking staff used to support the infirm; isigqwayi—a little

stick carried in the hand; udalo—the end of a stick; udalu—a very sharp pointed stick to

scratch with; ugqwangxe—a stick or induku made of black ironwood; ujojo—a long, thin stick

carried in the hand; umvingikazi—a long thick stick (Kropf 1915).

General

Every Southern Nguni man and boy carried a stick when away from the

homestead. Special sticks were required for certain purposes.

Xhosa

Pointed knobless sticks (Alexander 1837: 394; Brunotti 1932: 126, 127;

Elliot 1970: 71, 72), umnqayi (Soga 1932: 312) and intonga (Kropf 1915) were

used in young men’s stick fights. The sticks were pointed at the striking-ends so

as to make a more dangerous weapon (Soga 1932: 313). The intonga was with-

out cross-hatching (SAM-9427, King William’s Town, 1968).

Umnqayi sticks were carved from a tree of the same name, umnqayi (Cassine

202 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

velutinum (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1964: 1387)) (Kropf 1915; Makalima 1945

chapter 9, par. 12).

The isigweba, a short stick which might or might not have a knob, was

thrown to bring down birds (Soga 1937: 45).

Skill in aiming and in the correct technique of throwing sticks was

developed in certain boys’ games (Soga 1932: 307, 308). Girls too, might carry

sticks and engage in light stick fights (Elliot 1970: 70).

A stick was tied up with a man’s bundle of spears, to keep them straight

and for use as first defence. This stick has been described as ‘a stick five feet

long’ (Van der Kemp 1806: 444), as ‘een klijn kirrij’ (Beutler in Godée Mols-

bergen 1922: 307), a ‘walking staff’? (Alexander 1837: 388), a ‘long “‘charm

stick” ’ (King 1853: 171) and ‘umrholo a long stick’ (Kropf 1915). The umrholo

was made of olive wood (Olea africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1223)),

a very hard strong wood (Sim 1907: 266) (Kropf 1915).

Both the wmnqayi and intonga sticks had ritual functions. Carrying an

umnqayi stick was generally thought to bring good luck and gain. It was carried

by all men attending a marriage ceremony, and when carried by a group of

travelling men, it was an indication that they were consulting a diviner (Soga

1937: 45).

The intonga was used to beat time upon a bundle of spears during rain-

making ceremonies (Shaw 1860: 462).

A long stick carved of dark umzimbiti wood (Milletia grandis (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1415)) was awarded as second and sometimes first

prize to dancers at the initiates’ dance (Kirby 1934: 21).

Thembu

Long, roughly hewn and unpolished sticks, sometimes pointed at the butt

(SAM-6951, Bluebush, 1871), and sometimes with a knobbed head (SAM-6932,

Transkei, 1871), were used by the Thembu (Fig. 30A).

Bomvana

The wmnqayi, a long stick without a knob, and the induku, a short knobbed

stick about 105 cm long (EL Eth. 4813, Xora Mouth, 1967) were used for

fighting (Holt 1969: 222, 223). Bomvana youths often engaged in stick fights,

and used a long stick for defence, and a shorter one for offence (Holt 1969: 86).

The induku might be used in hunting, to throw at birds (Holt 1969: 223).

The wmnqayi sticks, blackened with soot and still retaining their bark,

were carried by a group when consulting a diviner, iggirha lentonga. A woman

would borrow one of her husband’s sticks. The sticks were a sign of their purpose

(Cook 1931: 133).

Mpondo

Mpondo sticks might be knobbed (SAM-6954, Pondoland, 1871), and the

butt might be pointed (SAM-—7401, Flagstaff, 1955). Other sticks made were the

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 203

isagweba, a throwing stick, carried by senior boys (Libode, 1969), the umnqayi,

a shoulder length stick still with the tree bark, and the uboko, the same shape

as umnqayi but with the bark removed (Lwandile, 1969).

The length of the shaft might be decorated with a carved snake design

(SAM-6954, Pondoland, 1871) (Fig. 30B), or with an incised zigzag pattern

which also gives a better grip (Libode and Lwandile, 1969).

The woods used were ebony, umbinda (Garcinia gerrardii (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1209)) (Kidd 1925: 37), umtunzi (Mimusops caffra/Mimusops

obovata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1325)), isindunguli (Lwandile, 1969)

and umzingati (Libode, 1969).

Although it is likely that sticks were often made by their owners, field

informants had acquired theirs from specialist stick carvers and had in one

instance paid 20c for a stick (Lwandile, 1969; Libode, 1969). Ornamental sticks

were made by specialists (Libode, 1969).

Less well-finished sticks were used for hunting and fighting. These might

vary in length from 105 cm (SAM-7400, Flagstaff, 1955) to 134 cm (SAM-7401,

Flagstaff, 1955).

Skill in the use of sticks was acquired from an early age (Hunter 1936: 410).

Sticks, not special in any way, were carried by the Mpondo when consulting

a diviner (Hunter 1936: 336).

Special ‘sticks of peace’, iintonga zoxolo, were carried by commoners and

chiefs at rainmaking and other ceremonies. Men at a feast would smear them

with fat after eating the meat. They were usually kept with the spears (Thelejane

1963: 34).

Mpondomise

The only Mpondomise stick in the South African Museum collection

(SAM-6955, Pondoland, 1871) is 111 cm long with a small head. The stick is

roughly hewn but is polished. The head has faint longitudinal lines carved on it

(Fig. 30C).

Mfengu

A Mfengu stick in the South African Museum collection (SAM-4451,

Butterworth, 1926) is a slender rod, 64 cm long, tapering from 2 cm at the

small knobbed head to 1 cm at the butt. It is decorated with beadwork. It is

possibly a dancing stick (Fig. 31).

Bhaca

The carrying of two sticks was the distinctive badge of the iindlavini,

‘worthless ones’, who were gangs formed by young men on their return from

a period of employment in the cities. In the absence of male initiation rites,

this time is thought to mark the change of status from boyhood to jnanheod

(Hammond-Tooke 1962: 79).

Sticks formed part of the traditional dress worn by Bhaca men during the

First Fruits ceremonies, ingcubhe (Hammond-Tooke 1962: 184).

204 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

A B C

Fig. 30. Sticks. A. Thembu stick, Transkei, 1871, SAM-6932. B. Mpondo stick with carved

snake design, Pondoland, 1871, SAM-6954. C. Mpondomise stick, Pondoland, 1871,

SAM-6955.

ee . wus

Fig. 31. Mfengu beaded stick, Butterworth, 1926, SAM-4451.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 205

Hlubi

Hlubi sticks in the South African Museum are part of a collection of

weapons thought to have belonged to Langalibaleli. Their lengths vary from

just under a metre (SAM-6652, no locality, 1947) to 1,5 m (SAM-6651, 6647a,

1947). Their shafts taper slightly towards the butt. With the exception of one

unknobbed stick (SAM-6647a) the sticks have relatively small spherical heads.

A short snake, carved in relief and branded, decorates one stick (SAM-6652).

A shorter stick, 77,5 cm, in the same collection, has a round but flat head, 8 cm

in diameter (SAM-—6653, 1947) (Fig. 32).

Xesibe

No information was obtained.

SUMMARY

In the past there was no lack of suitable material for wood-carving, but

the situation is changing. It appears that hard woods were quite extensively

used. There is little evidence of seasoning of timber.

Wood-carving is increasingly a specialist occupation.

Adzes and axes were formerly used for carving, but are now replaced by

European tools.

Decoration was mostly by branding and cross-hatching, sometimes by

carving, and, in the case of pipes, by lead inlay.

A variety of articles was made, none, with the notable exception of pipes,

displaying particular skill or style. Wooden tobacco pipes were not an indigenous

item of Southern Nguni material culture but have provided an oultet for the skill

and imagination of the carver, and fine examples were produced in the nine-

teenth century. Today they are plainer but have become so important to the

Xhosa that they are accepted as part of ‘traditional’ dress.

The general lack of information about wood-carving among the Hlubi

and Xesibe, and the gaps in other groups, are an indication not necessarily

of the absence of the craft, but rather of the difficulty at this stage of obtaining

the information.

Fig. 32. Hlubi stick, Cape, 1947, SAM-6653.

206 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

NATAL NGUNI

INTRODUCTION

In the account that follows, the term ‘Zululand’ is used for the former

tribal area of that name, north of the Tugela River.

Availability of material

Timber trees are found in all parts of Natal, especially in forests in valleys

of the midlands and uplands (Wood 1909: 121, 122). The uses of a large variety

of trees, mostly hard woods, were recorded, of which the following were most

common: umthombothi (Spirostachys africana), umkhuhlu (Trichilia roka),

umcaka (Rhamnus zeyheri), umbozane (Vepris lanceolata) and umkhonswane

(Ficus ingens).

Practitioners

Terms: ingwedi—1. one who produces perfect work. .. . 2. skilful carver; imbazi—expert

woodworker, professional carpenter; uwmbazi—carver, carpenter, woodworker (Doke &

Vilakazi 1964).

The craft of carving wood was practised by men, and is said to have been

stimulated by Dingiswayo, who encouraged skill and ingenuity at his court

(Fynn 1950: 10, 269). Utensils at the homestead of the king were made by

specialists (Samuelson 1929: 360) or by young men in the regiments (Krige

1950: 109), but at other homesteads they were made by the men of the family.

Latterly especially, the more skilled carvers may become specialists (Bryant

1949: 376) (Nongoma, 1970).

There does not appear to have been any tradition to confine skill in carving

to certain families only. Carvers interviewed in the field had learnt at school

or were self-taught.

Exchange of objects was formerly by barter, but nowadays it is for cash.

Seasoning

Grossert (1968: 392) states that unseasoned wood was used, although

the wood of a tree felled when the sap flow was low was preferred since it was

less likely to crack. Hard woods are nearly impossible to carve if allowed to

dry well. Informants in the field were not very clear about seasoning, but a

carver of headrests left his logs to dry for a few days before carving (Tugela

Ferry, 1970). Logs for making meat dishes were cut to the required size and

buried in a trench where they dried out slowly, thus minimizing cracking during

carving (Mahlabatini, 1977).

Technique

Terms: baza—shave or pare down, carve . . .; bazaka—to be used for carving; to be well-

carved; gwenda—to hollow out, scoop, carve out; ingwedo/isigwedo—a sharp, curved knife

used for scooping out wood; graving iron (used by native carvers); guba—to scoop out,

hollow out; isigubo—native tool for scooping out wooden spoons; imbazo—axe, adze; isampo-

thwe—native adze; izembe—axe, hatchet; isando—hammer, mallet (originally the stone used

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 207

by a smith for striking the hot iron). isando sokubethela—(ordinary hammer); shisa—. . .

brand. insimbi yokushisa izinkomo (branding iron); ishisa—artefact decorated with poker-

work, burnt-in patterns (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

The tools traditionally used for wood-carving were an axe, the blade of

which was turned in the haft to make an adze, and a spear (Fynn 1950: 269;

Angas 1849, pl. 21). A curved blade was used for scooping out and hollowing

(Krige 1950: 209; Doke & Vilakazi 1964), and the rough bark of the umrudisane

tree for smoothing (Krige 1950: 209). Adzes, often made by the carver himself,

are still quite widely used (Bergville, 1969; Melmoth, 1970; Nkandla, 1971;

Mahlabatini, 1977), as well as a curved scraping-tool (Fig. 33) (Grossert 1968:

392) (Bergville, 1969; Nongoma, 1970). European tools, such as axes, saws,

chisels, mallets, knives and sandpaper, store-bought or adapted from scrap

metal, are now used by all carvers (Grossert 1968: 392) (Bergville, 1969;

Nongoma, 1970).

No fat or any other preservative substance is applied to the finished carving,

but beef fat may be applied in the branding process (Bryant 1949: 408). Branding

is intended both to decorate and to make the objects durable (Fynn 1950: 269).

A flat piece of metal, heated red-hot, is used for branding (Fynn 1950: 269)

(Bergville, 1969; Melmoth, 1970; Mahlabatini, 1977).

Cracked objects, milk-pails for example, may be repaired with mimosa

gum, ungiyane (Doke & Vilakazi 1964) (Nqutu, 1969), or with a glued-in

wooden patch (Nongoma, 1970).

Fig. 33. Zizi carver using a curved scraping-tool, Bergville, 1969.

208 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

HOE-HAFTS

Terms: umphini—haft, handle (of axe, hoe); igeja—Native hoe. igeja lemikhono (hand hoe

. . .); lembe—native hoe (almost obsolete term for igeja); unguqu—old type of native hand hoe;

ikhuba—hoe (Doke & Vilakazi 1964); imphini yamegeja—hoe haft (Duggan-Cronin 1938,

pl. 106).

General

Metal-headed hoes were used by all Natal Nguni groups. Hoe-hafts were

fairly long, straight sticks with a club-like head into which the tang of the

metal hoe-head was fixed at right angles (Fig. 34) (Angas 1974: 75; Shooter

1857, pl. 2; Kidd 1925, pl. 73; Duggan-Cronin 1938, pl. 106; Schlosser 1972:

196).

Malcolm suggested that hoe-hafts were made by specialists (Duggan-

Cronin 1938, pl. 106) (Fig. 35). No information was found, however, on the

AXins

\ WY Wey! j)

RAR

ANN

NN)

Fig. 34. Zulu woman with hoe.

(After Angas 1849: 75.)

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 209

”

Fig. 35. A maker of hoe-hafts, 1930s. (Photograph Duggan-Cronin Bantu Gallery,

McGregor Museum, Kimberley.)

type of wood used or the tools required, nor on the means of fixing the metal

head.

SPADES

Terms: ihalavu—(from Afrikaans graaf) spade, scooped spade; ifosholo—(from English

shovel) shovel (Doke & Vilakazi 1964); impondwe—kind of spadoon of wood or blade of

bone of an animal with which natives weed gardens (not in use in Zululand) (Krige 1950: 398).

Zululand

Wooden spades about 1 m long and 8 cm wide were said to have been used

by women for cultivation in the second half of the nineteenth century (NAS 1528,

Nhlangeni River, 1930) (Fig. 36). Krige, however, states that these were not

used in Zululand (1958: 398).

Msinga area, Drakensberg area, southern Natal

No information was obtained.

210 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 36. Zulu wooden spade, Nhlangeni River, 1930, NAS 1528.

HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS

HEADRESTS

Terms: isicamelo/isigqamelo—native headrest; wooden neckrest; isiggiki—Native head-

rest formed of a wooden log with three or four short legs, sometimes carefully shaped for the

head, and modern forms with two sawn legs; umgqiki—native headrest (with or without legs);

umbuku—. .. block of wood used as a legless headrest (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

General

Wooden headrests were widely used to support the neck and head while

sleeping (Smith 1955: 87; Tyler 1891: 43). By day they were used as stools

(Mitford 1883: 143; Tyler 1891: 150; Plant 1905: 4), but a young man would

not sit in his father’s presence, nor would anyone sit on the headrest of the

head of the homestead or of the chief (Schlosser 1972: 428). A headrest as part

of an individual’s private property was buried with him, and was placed under

his head in the grave (Fynn 1950: 157, 158; Samuelson 1929: 288, 289).

Headrests were sometimes simple blocks of wood, with little shaping

(Grout 1862: 98; Holden 1866: 253). Other headrests were, however, carved

in a variety of styles and forms of decoration. The average length of specimens

recorded was about 40 cm, but some were particularly long, about 60 cm

(Schlosser 1972: 427; 428) (DC 1023, Ceza, 1940). The average height was

12,5 cm, and the width of the cross-piece 6 cm.

By 1936 headrests and sleeping-mats were being replaced by European

pillows and beds (Krige 1950: 46).

Zululand

Zulu headrests were carved from a single block of wood, in many styles

and with many types of decoration (Smith 1955: 87; Bryant 1949: 202).

The cross-piece may be straight (SAM-—10042, Babanango, 1971; NASKO

8181, Nongoma, 1939; DC 1023, Ceza, 1963; DC 1090, Mahlabatini, 1964),

or may curve down at the centre (NASKO 68/3, Mzimela, 1968; NASKO 8342,

Hlabisa, 1939). One of three types of support for the cross-piece may be used:

simple block legs, single (UCT 38/8, 38/10, no locality, 1938 (Fig. 37A); NASKO

8181, Nongoma, 1939; NASKO 68/3, Mzimela, 1968; DC 1023, Ceza, 1963;

DC 1090, Mahlabatini, 1964) or in pairs (SAM-—10042, Babanango, 1971) at

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING Diet

either end of the headrest; pairs of short, rounded legs (Angas 1849: 57) (NM

719, no locality, no date; Stockholm, Wahlberg 1845.1.2 and 2, no locality,

no date; BM 1917.11-3-3, no locality, no date; MVB III D225, no locality,

no date), or a central pedestal-type support (Tyrrell 1968: 113 ).NASKO 8342,

Hlabisa, 1939 (Fig. 37B)). Novel types such as two headrests joined by a wooden

chain (HW 5291, Eshowe, 1921), and a headrest in an animal shape (Cologne

9030, no locality, 1899) were noted as well.

They were usually decorated with carving, branding, or both (Smith 1955:

87; Bryant 1949: 407). Branding was done with a hot iron (Bryant 1949: 202).

The cross-piece was often decorated at each end with small carved unbranded

squares (UCT 38/10, no locality, 1938; NASKO 8181, Nongoma, 1939;

DC 1090, Mahlabatini, 1964), or carved branded squares (NASKO 68/3,

Mtunzini, 1968), or undercut ridges (Schlosser 1972: 428) (DC 1023, Ceza,

1963). These motifs appear most frequently on headrests with simple block

legs. The legs, too, may be decorated with the carved square design (Schlosser

1972: 427) (UCT 38/10, no locality, 1938; UCT 38/8, no locality, 1938; NASKO

8181, Nongoma, 1939; DC 1090, Mahlabatini, 1964; BM 1921-6-16-41, no

locality, 1921) (Fig. 37A), or with rounded horizontal ridges (SAM-10042,

Babanango, 1971), or simply by branding (DC 1023, Ceza, 1963). Solid branding

is most common on the rounded legs (Angas 1849: 57) (BM 1936-10-15-23,

no locality, 1936; Stockholm 1845.1.1-2, no locality, 1845; MVB III D 225,

no locality, 1880). The pedestal-type support is frequently decorated with

branded but not carved patterns (Tyrrell 1968: 113; NASKO 8342, Hlabisa,

1939) (Fig. 37B).

The woods commonly used for headrests were umgxamu (Schotia brachy-

petala), isipampato (Plectronia spinosa) (Bryant 1949: 407) and umthombothi

(Spirostachys africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 436, 1443)) (Nkandla,

1971).

Msinga area

Headrests seen in this area were either simple, uncarved blocks of wood

(Ngulubeni, Tugela Ferry, 1969), or carved and decorated headrests consisting

of a rectangular cross-piece supported by three or four legs (Tugela Ferry, 1969;

Keat’s Drift, 1969).

The woods used by field informants were the hard uwmgxamu (Schotia

brachypetala (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 646, 1320)) and umganswane

(Tugela Ferry, 1969). The tree was cut down and left for a few days to season.

The wood was washed but no fat was applied (Tugela Ferry, 1970).

In 1969 and 1970 field informants stated that headrests were in common

use (Keat’s Drift, 1969; Tugela Ferry, 1970).

Drakensberg area

A Ngwane headrest seen in the field had three pairs of square legs and

was decorated with an incised geometric design (Bergville, 1969). Museum

212 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 37. Headrests. A. Zulu headrest, 1938, UCT 38/10. B. Zulu headrest,

Hlabisa, 1939, NASKO 8342. C. Natal Nguni headrest, Bergville, 1973,

SAM-10216.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING DI}

specimens seen had two square legs decorated with carving and branding

(NASKO 8218, Bergville, 1939), or two pairs of rounded, undecorated legs

(SAM-10216, Bergville, 1973) (Fig. 37C).

Southern Natal

Headrests from southern Natal consisted of a length of tree stem with the

natural projections serving as legs, or a carved, narrow rectangular cross-piece

supported by two pairs of straight legs, or by several pairs of short, rounded

legs which were decorated with carving and branding (Miiller 1912-13: 857,

pl. 6).

In 1969 headrests were no longer used by the Khuzi at Bulwer.

STOOLS

Terms: isenabo—footstool or footrest; isenabelo—footstool (Doke & Vilakazi 1964);

isitulo—(Ngwane) stool (Bergville, 1969).

General

From the literature it appears that the same object generally served both

as stool and headrest. Some exceptions were noted in museum collections.

Today, however, western-type stools are made.

Zululand

Three stools only were seen, all of them in museums. They were carved

from the solid. Two had round seats and three legs (Campbell, Lynn Acutt

collection, MM 912, Zululand, no date; MVB 222, no locality, 1880), and the

other had a curving rectangular seat and two legs (Campbell 189, no locality,

no date) (Fig. 38). This stool is said to have been carved from a solid block of

wood with a small knife by Dinizulu while prisoner on St Helena in 1896. All

three stools had incised and branded decoration.

i DLLME ic ici SOE NEE

Fig. 38. Stool said to have been carved by Dinizulu, 1896, Campbell 189.

Height c. 30 cm.

214 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

The only wood specified is the hard wood, kiaat (Pterocarpus angolensis

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 642, 1216)) (Campbell, Lynn Acutt collec-

tion, MM912, Zululand, no date).

Drakensberg area

Roughly carved, kidney-shaped stools, with separately carved legs inserted,

were commonly made in the Bergville area (1969). No other type was seen.

Southern Natal

Bench-type stools were made by the Khuzi (Bulwer, 1969). These consisted

of joined lengths of wood, and were not carved out of the solid.

Msinga area

No stools were seen in the field in 1969 or 1970.

MILK-PAILS

Terms: itunga/ikhehla—tall narrow vessel made out of a single piece of wood for milking

into, with a small handle or knob on each side, and often ornamented (Mayr 1906: 464; Krige

1950: 398); ithunga—wooden milking vessel; milk-pail; iswmpa—1. nodule or excrescence

made on earthenware or wooden vessels for ornament or to provide a hold. 2. (pl. only) pair

of handles on a milk-pail; insumpa—ornamental nodule on vessels (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

Milk-pails were carved from the solid (Krantz 1880: 81; Mayer 1924:

1195; Van Rooyen 1934-5: 275). The woods used were umtongwane/tunga-

gazane (Pouteria natalensis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 933, 1429)),

umkhuhlu (Trichilia roka (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1451)) (NASKO

68/32, Mtunzini, 1968), umkhonswane (Ficus ingens (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 1395)) (Melmoth 1970), impayi (Ficus soldanella (Doke & Vilakazi 1964:

510)) (Nongoma, 1970).

The pails were of two types. The first were tall cylinders narrowed at the

base and top, and with two or more solid lugs near the rim. Sometimes there

was a central waist (NM 257, Zululand, 1904; NASKO 58/60, Eshowe, 1920;

Mahlabatini, 1970). According to Van Rooyen (1934-5: 275) they varied in

height from 45 to 60 cm, but the specimens seen averaged 40 cm in height and

13 cm in diameter at the mouth.

Decoration was by branding, especially on lugs and round the mouth

(Tyrrell 1968: 120) (NM 257, Zululand, 1904; NASKO 58/60, Eshowe, 1920;

NASKO 68/32, Mtunzini, 1968; Mlalazili area, Melmoth, 1970), or by carving

and branding designs similar to those on headrests and other objects (Curson

1932, pl. 23) (NM 257, Zululand, 1904; DC 52, no locality, 1935) (Fig. 39).

Sometimes variations on a chevron pattern were used (SAM-—9646, Nqutu,

1969 (Fig. 40); NM 257, Zululand, 1904; NASKO 58/60, Eshowe, 1920;

NASKO 68/32, Mtunzini, 1968; Mahlabatini, 1970).

The second type of milk-vessel, which might have Leen used for holding

milk rather than for milking into, had a bulbous body about 35 cm high,

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING DS

OY in tk fa ee

‘

S@ReEs Ee RS

Fig. 39. Zulu milk-pail with carved and

branded decoration, 1935, DC 52.

supported by four short legs and fitted with a rounded lid which might have

served as a drinking-cup for milk (Mayer 1924: 1194, 1195) (SAM-6739, Zulu-

land, 1871) (Fig. 41). Decorative handles might be carved on a pail and short

feet on the lid (Mayer 1924: 1194). The pail might be decorated with notched

design and all-over branding (SAM-6739, Zululand, 1871).

A tree trunk was divided into sections and the piece chosen from which

to carve a pail was secured by being partially sunk in the ground (Angas 1849:

95) (Fig. 42) (Melmoth, 1970; Nqutu, 1970). Formerly an axe blade was turned

in its haft to form an adze, and this, together with a curved spear-blade, was

used to shape and hollow out the pail. The curved spear-blade was skilfully

216 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 40. Zulu milk-pail, Nqutu, 1969,

SAM-9646.

manipulated through a very narrow mouth to within about 10 cm of the base

(Fynn 1950: 291). Spears commonly served as knives (Champion 1967: 1).

A late nineteenth-century writer stated that only a knife was used to carve the

pails (Krantz 1880: 81). Latterly store-bought and adapted western tools were

used in addition to old adzes (Melmoth, 1970; Nkandla, 1971). The pail was

hollowed out by means of a drill, hammer and chisel, and finally by a double-

edged sickle (Melmoth, 1970). A saw and chisel were used to shape the outside

and the lugs. The whole was finally smoothed with sandpaper (Melmoth, 1970).

No protective substance was applied to a newly carved pail, but cracks

in pails might be repaired with ungiyane, mimosa gum (Nqutu, 1970), or a

glued-in piece of wood (Nongoma, 1970) or a nailed-down metal patch (Mel-

moth, 1970).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING PVT

Fig. 41. Zulu lidded milk-pail,

Zululand, 1871, SAM-6739.

Amathunga were used for the milking only, the milk being poured into

and kept in calabash containers (Fynn 1950: 291). Milking was done in the

middle of the morning, and no one began until the kraal-head had done so

(Krige 1950: 48). Boys milked, squatting on their heels with the pail gripped

between their knees (Holden 1866: 253; Van Rooyen 1934-5: 275; Krige 1950:

48). The lugs prevented the pails from slipping (Grossert 1968: 392). Formerly

members of the regiments always danced for the king before his cows were

milked by special milkers, who approached holding their pails above their

heads to avoid the dust raised (Krige 1950: 239).

According to Schlosser (1972: 428-430), the milk-pail has a special signifi-

cance in the Zulu homestead in that, because of its close connection with milk

and cattle, it reflects the continuity of the lineage.

218 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 42. A carver hollowing the inside of a partially

sunken milk-pail. (After Angas 1849, pl. 97.)

Southern Natal

A small milk-pail, with lugs and four short, rounded feet, is illustrated by

Miiller (1912-13, pl. 6).

Msinga area, Drakensberg area

No information was obtained.

MEAT-DISH

Terms: uxwembe—solid wooden meat-dish (with four legs cut out of the same piece of

wood): uqwembe—wooden meat tray; uggoko—native meat tray carved of wood; isondo—leg

of cooking-pot, meat tray etc. (Doke & Vilakazi 1964.)

Zululand

Zulu meat-dishes were of a distinctive type and specimens noted did not

vary much in shape and decoration. They varied in length from 45 to 80 cm,

with an average width of 29 cm, and stood about 8 cm high. The most common

shape was a rounded rectangle, though circular meat-dishes were also made

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 219

Fig. 43. Round Zulu meat-dish,

Mtunzini, 1968, NASKO 68/26.

(NASKO Et. 110, no locality, no date; NASKO 68/26, Mtunzini, 1968 (Fig. 43);

NASKO 68/15, 68/16, Mtunzini, 1968). Squared handles projected from the

undersurface of the shallow dish, which was supported by four square or

rounded, short feet. Dishes were generally decorated on the undersurface, by

branding and carving. Either the whole undersurface, legs, handles and rim

were branded (SAM-5925, Zululand, 1938 (Fig. 44); SAM-9968, Nongoma,

1970; SAM-9975, Ubombo, 1970; SAM-9980, Matubatuba, 1970; NASKO

8185, Nongoma, 1939; NASKO 8296, Hlabisa, no date; Mahlabatini, 1970),

or sections were branded (NASKO 68/33, 68/34, Mtunzini, 1968; NASKO

68/15, 68/16, 68/17, Mtunzini, 1968). On the undersurface were carved small

motifs of blocks, a decorative feature found on much Zulu wood-carving

(SAM-5925, Zululand, 1938; SAM-9980, Matubatuba, 1970; UCT 38/23,

Natal, 1938 (Fig. 45); NASKO Et. 110, no locality, no date; NASKO 8185,

Nongoma, 1939; NASKO 8296, Hlabisa, no date; Mahlabatini, 1970) and

other conventional carved patterns (Bryant 1949: 407) (SAM-—9968, Mbilane,

1970; NASKO 68/26, Mtunzini, 1968: Mbuzeni and Nqutu, 1969 (Fig. 46).

Sometimes patterns were incised on a previously branded surface (NASKO

68/27, Mtunzini, 1968; Nongoma, 1970). It appears that the natural grain and

colouring were also exploited as decoration (SAM-9980, Matubatuba, 1970

(Fig. 47); Mahlabatini, 1970).

Soft woods were the most commonly used (Bryant 1949: 407), namely

umkhonswane (Ficus ingens (Watt & Breyer-Brandwiyk 1962: 1395)) (Bryant

1949: 407), umganu (Sclerocarya caffra (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1320))

(Bryant 1949: 407) (Mahlabatini, 1977) umhlambamanzi (Rauvolfia natalensis

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1432)) (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 317) (NASKO

68/27, Mtunzini, 1968), wmnyamati (Ekebergia meyeri (Sim 1907: 172; Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1323)) (NASKO 68/17 and 68/18, Mtunzini, 1968;

Mahlabatini, 1977), umvangazi (Trema sp. (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1326)) (Nongoma, 1970) and umyezana (Salix mucrinata (Sim 1907: 328; Watt

& Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1326)) (Nqutu, 1969).

220 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 44. Branded under surface of a Zulu meat-dish,

Zululand, 1938, SAM-5925.

Fig. 45. Carved decoration on a Zulu meat-dish,

Natal, 1938, UCT 38/23.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 20

Fig. 46. Patterns on under surfaces of Zulu meat-dishes, Nqutu, 1969.

Fig. 47. Zulu meat-dish, Matubatuba, 1970, SAM-9980.

IY ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Some hard woods were also used, however, namely umncaka (Rhamnus

zeyheri (Watt & Breyer-Brandwik 1962: 883, 1322)) (Mahlabatini and

Nongoma, 1970), umthombothi (Spirostachys africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 1443)) (Nongoma, 1970) and umbozane (Vepris lanceolata (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 925, 1319)) (Nkandla, 1971).

About forty dishes could be carved from one tree (Mahlabatini, 1977).

Meat-dishes were made by male specialists. One field informant was assisted

by his wife in carving the bowl. A dish might take from two days to a week to

complete. A specialist might derive his whole income from carving. Articles

were sold to members of the homestead and to others, including trading stores

(Nongoma, 1970; Nkandla, 1971).

No information was found on traditional tools. Latterly only store-bought

or adapted western tools have been used (Nongoma and Melmoth, 1970;

Mahlabatini, 1977). The selected tree was cut down with an axe and sawn in

half lengthways (Nqutu, 1969) and sometimes the shape of the dish was drawn

in pencil before the preliminary shaping was done with a smaller axe, bush-

knife, mallet, isando, and chisel (Nongoma, 1970; Mahlabatini, 1977) (Fig. 48).

Fig. 48. Zulu carver doing preliminary shaping of a wooden dish,

Nongoma, 1970.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 223

An adze, isampothwe (Nongoma and Melmoth, 1970; Nkandla, 1971; Mahla-

batini, 1977), or part of a pair of shears adapted as a scraper (Nongoma, 1970),

were used to hollow the bowl. Sandpaper might be used for finishing (Nongoma,

1970; Mahlabatini, 1977). Branding was done with a heated piece of iron,

either on carved decoration, or on the carved bowl, after which the decoration

was carved, so that the contrast in colour was additional decoration (Nongoma,

1970; Mahlabatini, 1977).

Meat was served from the dishes (Anonymous 1859: 44; NASKO 68/15,

68/18, 68/26, 68/27, 68/33, 68/34, Mtunzini, 1968), although apparently they

were formerly used only by kings and chiefs (Fynn 1950: 27; Smith 1955: 83).

Recent museum specimens and field information indicate that meat trays were

commonly used, however, and that a family would serve themselves from one

dish. Small dishes were made for the personal use of more important men

such as the head of a homestead (Durban 4253, Zululand, 1937; Nqutu, 1969).

Msinga area

Meat-dishes from this area do not differ significantly in shape or dimension

from those of Zululand. Specimens seen averaged 53 cm in length and had

rectangular bowls with squared handles projecting from the undersurface,

and four square legs (SAM-9943, Msinga, 1970; SAM-9944, Msinga, 1970;

Tugela Ferry, 1970). The rim of the bowl, the handles and sections of the

undersurface may be decorated by branding (Fig. 49).

Hard woods were mainly used (Tugela Ferry, 1970), namely umkhamba

(Acacia lasiopetala (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1347)), umgxamu (Schotia

brachypetala (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1348)), umfuco (Heeria paniculosa

(Sim 1907: 193; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1400)) and umduli (Brachy-

laena sp. (Sim 1907: 246, 247; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1251)). The use

Fig. 49. Underside of a meat-dish,

Msinga, 1970, SAM-9943.

224 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

of one soft wood, umsenge (Cussonia spicata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1324)), was also recorded (Tugela Ferry, 1970).

Woodcarvers in the area made meat-dishes for the homestead (Sindanwe,

Tugela Ferry, 1970) and sometimes for sale over a wider area (Sindanwe and

Cwaka, Tugela Ferry, 1970). One carver made only meat-dishes (Sindanwe,

Tugela Ferry, 1970).

A saw and an axe were used to bring down the tree, and to divide it into

workable sections (Cwaka, Tugela Ferry, 1970). Shaping and hollowing of the

bowl were done with a file and chisel (Sindanwe, Tugela Ferry, 1970). The

chisel might be home-made, but the other tools were store-bought (Cwaka,

Tugela Ferry, 1970). The branding is done with a piece of iron heated red-hot

(Sindanwe and Cwaka, Tugela Ferry, 1970).

Drakensberg area

The only specimen seen is a Zizi meat tray very similar to the Zulu type.

It is 41,5 cm long and 21,5 cm wide. The rounded rectangular bowl is supported

by four square feet, and has a handle at either side. One handle is a conventional

carved loop of wood, the other is simply a short projection (SAM-9641, Berg-

ville, 1969).

No information on Ngwane meat-dishes was obtained.

Southern Natal

The only specimen seen was a Khuzi meat-dish with two bowls, one

larger and one smaller, said to be for meat and potatoes. Unlike all other

Natal Nguni specimens, the feet were carved separately and nailed on to the

bowls (Bulwer, 1969).

OTHER WOODEN VESSELS

Terms: isikhamba—open-mouthed pot, such as is used for serving beer or sour milk;

umkhele—. . . broad-mouthed drinking-pot; isivengezi/uyengezi—broad-mouthed vessel (Doke

& Vilakazi 1964); uwmqengqge—deep wooden vessel resembling a small milking-pot, and used

by children for eating from, according to Bryant. Colenso says it is a curved wooden vessel

with a cover, one used for milking, the other for mixing curds. Mayr gives it as a wooden

trough used for feeding little dogs (umqenge) (Krige 1950: 398).

Zululand

Zulu vessels noted were of three types, the first consisted of a shallow bowl,

the second type was round and pot-like, and the third was more elongated.

Bowls seen of the first type varied in diameter from 41,5 cm (Q & F no no.,

no locality, 1943) to 19 cm (DC 1088, Ceza, 1964), and in height from 20 cm

(Q & F no no., no locality, 1943) to 8 cm (King William’s Town Y 595, no

locality, 1946). Bowls were most often supported by four stubby, round feet

(DC 1088, Ceza, 1964; King William’s Town Y 595, no locality, 1946). They

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING p25

might have lugs (King William’s Town Y 595, no locality, 1946; Q & F no no.,

no locality, 1943), or decoration round the rim or on the sides of the bowl

“might serve as grips (DC 1088, Ceza, 1964).

The undersurface of the bowl might be branded and polished (King

William’s Town Y 595, no locality, 1946) or decorated with carving as well.

The design of sections of raised small blocks (DC 1088, Ceza, 1964) (Fig. 50)

was noted. One specimen had a leather thong bound round the rim which might

have served for decoration, for a better grip or for strengthening, since the

bowl had a crack (Q & F no no., no locality, 1943).

Dishes of the second type were round, in general about 30 cm both in

height and in diameter at their widest point. They stood on three short legs

(Anonymous 1871: 82) (NM 3015, Zululand, 1935; BM 1917-11-3-9, no

locality, 1917; Linden 18433, no locality, 1901) (Fig. 51) and might be fitted

with round lids (NM 144, no locality, no date; NM 3015, Zululand, 1935;

BM 1917-11-3-9, no locality, 1917) (Fig. 52) which might have a handle

(NM 144, no locality, no date). They might have knob-like lugs (NM 144, no

locality, no date; NM 3015, Zululand, 1935; Albany AM 184, no locality, 1835).

Fig. 50. Zulu bowl, Ceza, 1964, DC 1088. Diameter 19 cm.

226 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

a Se

Ere renner 2 aT aS

Fig. 51. Three-legged beer vessel.

(Globus 1871 19: 82.)

Fig. 52. Zulu lidded vessel, 1935, NM 3015.

(Photograph Natal Museum.)

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 22

The third type was pail-shaped, round bottomed, but elongated, and

about 30 cm high (BM 1569, no locality, no date; BM 2177, no locality, no date)

(Fig. 53).

The second and third type of dish is frequently decorated with sections

of grooving so juxtaposed as to form symmetrical patterns. This decorative

carving is continued on the lids, lugs and feet (Fig. 54). Sections of small raised

carved blocks may also be used for decoration (Fig. 55). The entire carved bowl

might be branded (NM 144, no locality, no date; NM 3015, Zululand, 1935;

Linden 18433, no locality, 1901 ).

Dishes were carved from the solid (Holden 1836: 253). Only one type of

wood was recorded, isigolwane (Burchellia bubalina) a hard wood (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 897, 1365) (NM 3015, Zululand, 1935).

Dishes were used for general purposes (Holden 1866: 253). The second

and third types of dish described were used for serving beer (Anonymous 1871:

82) and sour milk (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Drakensberg area

A Zizi bowl, ukhamba, is 11,4 cm high, and measures 16 cm at its point

of greatest diameter, and 12 cm at the mouth. Blocks of carved longitudinal

grooves decorate the sides of the bowl, which is branded (SAM-9640, Bergville,

1969) (Fig. 56).

Fig. 53. Pail-shaped Zulu vessel,

BM 1569. Height 36,8 cm.

228 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 54. Grooved decoration on a Zulu vessel,

Zululand, 1835, Albany AM 184.

(Photograph Albany Museum.)

Fig. 55. Decoration of carved blocks on a Zulu vessel,

BM 1917-11-3-9. Height c. 57 cm.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 229

964

Fig. 56. Zizi bowl, ukhamba,

Bergville, 1969,

SAM-9640.

The wood used was indelo (indolo, Lasiosiphon anthylloides (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1409)), which was carved with an axe and an adze, and with a

sickle used as a scraper (Bergville, 1969). The untreated surface was branded

with a piece of heated iron.

The maker said wooden bowls were not widely used since clay ones were

cheaper (Bergville, 1969). The same term was used for both.

At Bulwer (1969) an informant said that the Ngwane did not use wooden

bowls.

Msinga area, southern Natal

No information was obtained.

MORTARS AND PESTLES

Term: isigqulo—. . . mortar, stamp block, pounding-block (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

General

Mortars and pestles are not unknown, but are not often used. One

informant (Keat’s Drift, Msinga, 1969) said that they were ‘not used by the

Zulu’. The only example seen was at Tshongwe (1970) where there is strong

Swazi and Tsonga influence. Nevertheless the term exists.

SPOONS, SCOOPS, LADLES AND STIRRERS

Terms: isicakulo —ladle (used to be made of wood, calabash or burnt clay); ukhezo—spoon

(of any kind, whether carved of wood, formed of a split gourd, or of metal). imbuzi yokhezo

(the goat belonging to the spoon, i.e. a goat given to a recently married girl by her father at

the time of her commencing to eat curdled milk at her husband’s kraal); isigwedlela—a dipper,

ladle; ikhamanzi—water-ladle, water-dipper; intonyane—1. small beer pot; 2. ladle; ingxwembe

230 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

—large wooden ladle. ukudla ngengxwembe (to be old-fashioned, literally to eat with an old-

time wooden spoon); isixwembe—. . . large wooden spoon or ladle; ingxembe—wooden

spoon; isixembe—large wooden spoon; isixembu—broad, flat object, especially big wooden

spoon, or big spoon made from calabash; isifoboza—wooden spoon with very large mouth-

piece; isimfoboza—spoon with large bow]; isikhabethuke —very large spoon; isifoloza—wooden

spoon with large bowl; isihebelendu—spoon with large bowl; isiphako—ladle, instrument for

serving up food; isiphakuluzi—ladle; implement for dishing out; imvokogo—spoon or ladle

with deep bowl; imvongogo—spoon or ladle with deep bowl; iphini—stirring-stick (for

porridge); ibondo—hlonipha term for iphini, stirring-stick; ubondo—ladle or stirring-stick for

mixing porridge or beer (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

General

Many vernacular terms were found, but information in the literature and

from museum specimens could not elucidate whether a term applied to a specific

type of spoon, or whether it referred to a more general characteristic.

Zululand

Zulu spoons are carved in a variety of shapes. The bowl may be carved at

an angle to the handle (SAM-8422, Nongoma, 1961; NASKO 68/29, Mtunzini,

1968; NASKO, W. A. Judson collection no. 2, 1967), or so that it appears to

be set on the handle, and has part of the handle running beneath it (SAM-S5817,

Nongoma, 1937; SAM-8422, Nongoma, 1961). Bowls may be round (SAM-

8422, Nongoma, 1961; NASKO 68/8, Mtunzini 1968; NASKO, W. A. Judson

collection no. 2, 1967; Campbell 172, Greytown, no date) (Fig. 57A), or oval

(NASKO 65/31, Eshowe, 1965; DC 1096, Ceza, 1964), or wide pear-shaped

(Fig. 57B), and are of different depths. The handles are circular in section.

There are spatulate ladles, with the bowl and handle, which is half-moon

in section, in one plane (SAM—9961, Mahlabatini, 1970; SAM-—10048, Nkandla,

1971; PE 158, Zululand, 1915). Ladles may also be carved in imitation of split

gourds (NASKO, W. A. Judson collection, Mtunzini, 1967).

Zulu spoons are distinguished not so much by shape as by decoration.

All specimens seen are decorated either by branding or carving, most often

by both. The rim of the bowl is almost invariably branded (Bryant 1949: 407)

(Fig. 57B). The handle is decorated with geometric designs of branding done

on carving (Fig. 58A—B), or branding alone (Bryant 1949: 407). The tip of the

handle may be branded as well (SAM-8422, Nongoma, 1961; NASKO 65/31,

Eshowe, 1965; Kaffrarian Museum Y186, Stanger, 1940; NASKO 68/28,

68/29, 68/30, Mtunzini, 1968; DC 1096, Ceza, 1964; NASKO 8324, Ubombo,

1939). The handle may divide into 2 parallel sections (Kaffrarian Museum Y184,

Nongoma, no date; NASKO, W. A. Judson collection no. 2, 1967). Ladles

seen had little decoration—possibly on a branded bowlrim and handle (SAM-—

9961, Mahlabatini, 1970; SAM-10048, Nkandla, 1971).

Spoons were carved of soft wood (Bryant 1949: 407). Species recorded were

umkhonswane (Ficus ingens (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1395)), umganu

(Sclerocarya caffra (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 55, 1320)) (Bryant 1949:

407), umnyamathi (Ekebergia capensis/meyeri (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

744, 1323; Doke & Vilakazi 1964)) (Bryant 1949: 407) (Babanango, 1971),

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 23)

Fig. 57. Zulu spoons. A. Spoon with round bowl, Greytown,

Campbell 172. Length 60 cm. B. Broad-bowled spoon, Ubombo, 1939,

NASKO 8324. Length 49,5 cm.

umkhuhlu (Trichilia roka (Sim 1907: 160, 161; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1450)) (SAM-10048, Nkandla, 1971), willow (Salix (Sim 1907: 328)) (Nqutu,

1969).

Harder types were also used, however, namely red milkwood, Mimusops

caffra or Mimusops obovata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1415) (Holden

1866: 253), ingqwangane (Gymnosporia buxifolia (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 183, 1249)) (Mahlabatini, 1970), inhlokoshane (Rhus cotinus (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1249)).

Wooden spoons were carved by the men of the homestead (Isaacs 1836:

237; Grout 1862: 113) (Mahlabatini, 1970). Spoons are also made in school

woodwork classes today (NASKO 68/8, 68/28, 68/29, 68/30, Mtunzini 1968).

Each individual in a family had his own spoon which was used to take

food, especially amasi, from a common dish (Grout 1862: 101; Little 1887: 446;

232 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

“ CO eS

LoS | a ad

Fig. 58. Zulu spoons with carved and branded decoration. A. Ceza, 1964, DC 1096.

B. Ceza, 1964, DC 1097.

Plant 1905: 44; Aitchison 1917: 54; Krige 1950: 49) (Nqutu, 1969; Mahlaba-

tini, 1970), although grain foods might be eaten with the fingers (Grossert 1968:

389). Personal spoons were kept in a small woven grass bag, isampontshe, and

were identifiable by their decoration. A well-carved spoon is said to have had

prestige value (Grossert 1968: 389, 390).

Larger spoons were used to make porridge and to serve food (Grossert

1968: 389; Mahlabatini, 1970) (Fig. 59), and deep-bowled spoons or ladles were

used to pour water or beer (Grossert 1968: 389) (PE 158, Zululand, 1915).

According to Krige (1950: 49), spoons were not to be left upright in a

dish of food, lest the food stick in one’s stomach.

A spoon and a goat, called imbuzi yokhezo—‘the goat belonging to the

spoon’—had to be given to a young bride before she might eat amasi at her

husband’s homestead (Krige 1950: 154, 155; Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 392).

Msinga area

Spoons from the Msinga area like those of Zululand show a variety of

shapes and sizes. A spatulate type, however, appears to be the most common

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 233

Fig. 59. Zulu woman stirring porridge with

large spoon, Mahlabatini, 1970.

in this area. It has a flattened handle, spatulate bowl set at a slight angle, and

cross-hatched and branded decoration at the neck and on the handle (Miiller

1912-13, pl. 6) (SAM-8430, Msinga, 1961 (Fig. 60); SAM-—9942, Msinga,

1970; DC 1101 a-c, Tugela Ferry, 1964).

Other specimens have round bowls (Miller 1912-13, pl. 6) (SAM-8431,

Msinga, 1961; SAM-9941, Msinga, 1970; NM 128, Umsinga, 1930s), or oval

bowls (SAM-8429, Msinga, 1961). Handles are decorated with carving and

branding (SAM-8429, 8431, Msinga, 1961; NM, H. F. Fynn collection 128,

132, 134, Umsinga), and the bowl rim with branding (NM, H. F. Fynn collec-

tion 128, 132, Umsinga).

The spoons were carved of the following hard woods: inhlokoshane (Rhus

cotinus (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1433)), wmpombulu (not identified)

(Tugela Ferry, 1970), and umncaka (Rhamnus zeyheri (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

19627 1322)):

Spoons were made by specialist woodcarvers (Tugela Ferry, 1970), and

sometimes to order (Keat’s Drift, 1969).

234 ANNALS OF THE SCUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Southern Natal

Specimens seen from southern Natal have round or oval bowls mostly

carved in the same plane as the handle. The stems have decoration carved in

relief and branded and the bowlrims are also branded. Spoons of the spatulate

type noted in the Msinga area were also recorded (Miiller 1912-13: 857, pl. 6)

(Bulwer, 1969).

A Bhaca specimen seen, termed ukhezo livamasi, has a shallow bowl at

nearly right angles to a slender handle (NM 1984, Ixopo, 1912 (Fig. 61)).

The wood most commonly used by the Khuzi for spoons was isidwadwa

(Greya sutherlandia (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 177)) or Leucosidea cericea (Watt

& Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1251), which was cut in local forests (Bulwer, 1969).

A Khuzi woodcarver used a knife, chisel and file, and home-made tools.

He made articles to order (Bulwer, 1969).

Fig. 60. Spatulate spoon,

Msinga, 1961, SAM-8430.

Fig. 61. Bhaca spoon,

Ixopo, 1912,

NM 1984.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 235

The function of spoons differed according to their size. Very long and

large-bowled types were used for stirring beer during brewing, medium-sized

ones were used for stirring and serving food, and the small spoons were used

to eat with (Miiller 1912-13: 857, pl. 6).

Spoons and other utensils used to be given as wedding gifts, cimeliso, to

Khuze and Bhaca girls when they were about to be married (Kohler 1933:

73, 78, 79; Doke & Vilakazi 1964). Today cash is more commonly given.

Drakensberg area

No information was obtained.

TROUGHS

Terms: isangxoko—shallow trough (as for pig-feeding); isthohoba/umhohobalumhohombe

—long, deep, narrow object; trough; umgengge—flat, wooden dish (Doke & Vilakazi 1964);

wooden trough (Babanango, 1970); uwmgenge—wooden trough used for feeding little dogs,

cut out of solid wood (Mayr 1906: 465).

Zululand

Troughs, consisting of a hollowed-out log or half-log, were made to hold

water and food for domestic animals (Mayr 1906: 465) (Mahlabatini, 1970;

Babanango, 1971).

A moderately hard wood, isifico (Protorhus longifolia (Sim 1907: 193;

Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1251)) was used by an informant in the Baba-

nango district (1971). He had used a bush-knife to cut down the tree, and a

small adze to hollow out the trough.

Msinga area, Drakensberg area, southern Natal

No information was obtained.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

MUSICAL BOWS

Terms: ugubu—‘musical bow’ with single string fitted with calabash resonator attached

to the stave near its lower end, the string (of sinew, hair, or now brass wire) is struck with a

stalk of tambootie grass. This is generally played by women to accompany the voice; inkohlisa

—large musical bow with calabash resonator attached, similar to the ugubu, but having the

string tied down to the bow at the middle; played by both men and women; ugwabe —large

‘musical bow’, with calabash attached and strings tied down to the stave in the middle; inkokha

—large-sized stringed musical instrument formed of a bow with calabash attached, similar

to the ugubu, but having the string tied down to the bow at the middle; played by both men

and women; imvingo—musical instrument consisting of a gourd with ‘musical bow’ attached

above (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

Several types of musical bow were played by the Zulu. The most common

was the ugubu, also known as ugumbu, gobuolukhulu or inkohlisa (Kirby 1934:

197). It consisted of a well-curved wooden stave about 120 cm long, made

236 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

from a branch with the bark removed, to the lower end of which a resonator

was attached (Smith 1955: 90, 91; Angas 1849, pl. 25; Shooter 1857: 236, 238;

Holden 1866: 255; Kidd 1925, pl. 53; Kirby 1934: 196, 197, 198, 201; Krige

1950: 337). The inkholisa was the larger variety of the instrument (Kirby 1934:

201).

A very similar bow, termed unkoka, umakweyana, isiqwenqwemana, uqwabe,

imyvinge, or inkholisa (Kirby 1934: 206) was made by tying back the string to

the centre of the wooden stave, where the resonator was attached (Angas 1849:

111; Kirby 1934: 204, 205, 206; Tyrrell 1968: 119) (Nongoma, 1970 and 1971)

(Fig. 62). According to Kirby (1934: 205) it is of quite recent adoption by the

Zulu.

The ugubu and unkoka were usually kept in the ceiling of a hut, where the

smoke, together with applications of fat, darkened and beautified them. Old

instruments were therefore prized (Kirby 1934: 201, 208).

ber . : ai % :

eS hg optus a >

e Yee ‘I *

Fig. 62. Zulu girl playing umakweyana,

Nongoma, 1971.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING D3),

The isitontolo or isigomqomana, which used the mouth as resonator, was

made in three possible ways. 1. A 20 cm length of soft wood such as syringa

(Melia azedarach (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1413)) with the bark removed

was carved so that it was thinnest at the middle. Two thin, curved lengths of

elastic wood, notched at their ends for the attachment of the string, were fitted

- into the short carved ‘barrel’. 2. A length of elastic wood was thrust through a

central barrel of reed. 3. Light wood was carved in one piece with a central

cylindrical barrel about 12 cm long with the two projecting ends, roughly

semicircular in section, tapering and notched at their tips. The whole bow was

about 90 cm long. Green wood was used, and the bow was dried in a curved

position (Kirby 1934: 229, 232, 234).

Another bow using the mouth as resonator was the umrube, which con-

sisted simply of a curved stave of wood or of a length of hollow umsenge wood

(Cussonia spicata) into which a shorter length of thin elastic wood was fitted,

and strung (Kirby 1934: 239; Krige 1950: 337).

An instrument, the ubhek’indhlela, thought to be of relatively recent

introduction and which previously used the mouth as resonator, later consisted

of a straight wooden stave with a peg driven through one end, and the lower

end attached to a tin resonator. The string was strung from the peg to the tin.

It was not commonly played by the Zulu (Kirby 1934: 215, 217).

Musical bows were not made by specialists, but men might make them

for women players (Kirby 1934: 201). Unmarried women played the ugubu,

while the unkoka was played by both sexes—the smaller type, wmakweyana,

by young girls and newly married women, and the larger by single or married

men (Kirby 1934: 201, 208), The isintontolo and ubhek’indhlela were played

by men only (Kirby 1934: 215, 234).

The ugubu was mainly used as an accompaniment for song (Kirby 1934:

201). The inkoka was generally played solo, but sometimes two might be played

together (Kirby 1934: 201, 208).

DRUMS

Terms: ingungu—single-headed friction drum (Kirby 1934: 27); isigubu—double-headed

drum, of hollowed wood with stretched skin heads, played with two padded sticks (Doke &

Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

The only Zulu drum considered to be indigenous is a single-headed friction

drum, ingungu, which was made of a wooden cylinder with skin stretched over

the open end. However, an earthenware pot or calabash was more commonly

used as a base. It was played by young people during the seclusion period of a

young girl’s puberty ceremony (Kirby 1934: 27; Krige 1950: 102).

The percussion drum is a more recent item of Zulu culture. A double-

headed drum, isigubu, was carved from a section of a soft-wooded tree-trunk,

for example umsenge (Cussonia spicata (Kirby 1934: 45)) (NASKO 37/262,

238 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Kranskop, 1937), or umhlonhlo (Euphorbia grandidens (Kirby 1934: 45)). It was

headed with skin laced together with thongs. A cord was attached by which it

was hung round the neck when being played. The drums varied in size (Kirby

1934: 45). A specimen seen was 31 cm long, with heads about 23 cm in diameter

(NASKO 37/262, Kranskop, 1937 (Fig. 63)). The drumsticks were about 30 cm

long, with padded heads. The shape of the drum, the attachment of the skin

heads by lacing, the padded drumsticks and the method of playing, suggest

that this drum was copied from the European bass drum (Kirby 1934: 45;

Krige 1950: 336).

The drum was played at weddings by a member of the bride’s party (Kirby

1934: 46).

Another type of drum was noted in a museum collection. It is a large

straight-sided wooden bowl with a skin head fastened by wooden pegs, and

two handles carved vertically just below the head. A pattern imitating weaving

is carved midway round the bowl (NASKO 3665, Dingaan’s Kraal, 1921).

Fig. 63. Zulu drum, isigubu,

Kranskop, 1937,

NASKO 37/262.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 239

FLUTES

Terms: umtshingo—an oblique flute of reed, about three ft (90 cm) in length, cut off at

the upper end at an angle of 45°; the mouth of the player directs air across the opening; a great

variety of individual tunes can be played upon this; ivenge—reed whistle or flute (Doke &

Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

Although reed was more commonly used, a flute, wmtshingo or ivenge,

was sometimes made from the axis of the inflorescence of the uwmsenge tree

(Cussonia spicata). The pith was removed and the oblique embouchure was

cut in the bark at the wider end of the axis. A cut at the narrow end was either

at right angles or oblique (Kirby 1934: 112).

The flute was used by cattle herds to signal to each other, and to play to

their cattle which were said to graze better where the flute was played, and to

recognize and follow their herd’s call (Kirby 1934: 116). In the past the only

time the wmtshingo might be played was at the annual First Fruits ceremonies

(Samuelson 1929: 386; Kirby 1934: 116).

WHISTLES

Term: uveve—1. signal whistle of horn or wood; 2. double fipple reed whistle made in

imitation of a police whistle (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

The whistle, wveve, originally made of horn, was later made of a length of

hard wood carved in imitation of horn, split down the middle and having the

two halves hollowed out. The halves were then put together and encased in an

ox-tail. It was used as a signal whistle in hunting (Kirby 1934: 110).

WIND-STRING INSTRUMENTS (GorA)

Terms: ugwala—species of musical instrument derived from the ‘gora’ of the Hottentots;

unkwindi—‘stringed-wind’ musical instrument made of bent reed from end to end of which is

stretched a string, under the one end of which a quill is fixed; the quill is held between the

parted lips, and by inspiring and expiring with force, selected harmonies are elicited from the

string (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

A museum specimen of a Zulu gora has a wooden stave 103 cm long,

about 3 cm in diameter, strung with sinew and fitted with a wooden tuning-peg

(NM 820, Natal, 1907). The ugwala was played by men, since women lacked

the strength necessary for sounding the instrument, which was by inhaling and

exhaling against the string (Kirby 1934: 171, 184).

Msinga area, Drakensberg area, southern Natal

It may be presumed that similar instruments were used throughout Natal,

but no information for areas other than Zululand was found.

240 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

PERSONAL OBJECTS

EAR-STUDS

Terms: isiviliba—large circular ornament inserted in a hole in the lobe of the ear; isighaza

—plug for the hole in the lobe of the ear (used to enlarge it); . . . person with a plug in the

lobe of his ear (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

A distinguishing feature of the Zulu was pierced ears. Children’s ears

were pierced at the age of about 12 in a ceremony that marked a rise in status

and a step towards fuller tribal identity (Krige 1950: 81-85). Pieces of reed

were worn in the holes, but in adulthood studs of wood, or other material,

were worn (Isaacs 1970: 308; Smith 1955: 82; Mayr 1907: 638). They were

about 2,5 cm in diameter, conical and with a narrow stem which fitted the hole

in the lobe (Bryant 1949: 141). They might be decorated with branding and

cross-hatching (SAM-—5929, Zululand, 1938; MVB III D. 129-132, 1542a-b,

no locality, no date) (Fig. 64). A more recent type is a simple disc of light wood,

about 3 cm in diameter and about 2 cm in width, decorated with coloured

plastic (SAM-—7502, Natal, 1956).

One of the woods used for the studs was the hard, red heart-wood of

isihlakoti (Rhus viminalis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 50, 1251)) (Krige

1950: 381).

Drakensberg area

According to Smith (1955: 87) Ngwane men and women in the 1830s had

large holes in their ear-lobes. However, no specimens of wooden ear-studs from

this area were seen.

Msinga area, southern Natal

No information was obtained.

Fig. 64. Zulu ear-studs,

Zululand, 1938,

SAM-5929.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 241

HAIRPINS

Terms: isicwalo—a crochette-shaped instrument made of hard wood for dressing the ring

and hair of a man and the chignon of a woman. A flat-shaped one is used for burnishing the

ring of a man (Samuelson 1929: 322); pointed wooden instrument for picking or puffing out

the hair, or a flat smooth instrument for burnishing the head-ring (Krige 1950: 398); pointed

instrument for picking or puffing out the hair (particularly a man’s head-ring or a woman’s

top-knot); ucwalo—hair-dressing instrument; isichwayo—haircomb (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

Hair-dressing was practised to a considerable extent by the Zulu, and

distinctive styles for young and old of both sexes existed (Krige 1950: 371, 377).

In the 1830s a wooden hairpin was carried in the hair by all (Smith 1955:

81). Hairpins were pointed at one end, and notched at the wider end (BM 3360,

3366, 3368, no locality, no date; P-RM, Balfour 144 IV.65, Swartkop, 1905).

Msinga area, Drakensberg area, southern Natal

No information was obtained.

NECKLACES

Terms: isigu—medicinal charm worn round the neck to ward off evil; badge of bravery

(consisting of shaped wood or horn) worn round the neck by those who have killed an enemy

in battle; umgexo—coil of strings of beadwork worn encircling the neck, wrist or body;

ubande—wooden beads of umthombothi; necklace of umthombothi beads (Doke & Vilakazi

1964).

Zululand

The necklace isiqu, consisted of short, roughly cylindrical pieces of wood,

indented at their centre so that they would be strung together interlocking at

right angles. The tips of the ‘beads’ were branded (Ludlow 1882: 169) (Campbell

279, no locality, no date; BM 5152, no locality, no date; P-RM 1941.12.57,

—58, -59, Natal, 1941) (Fig. 65A—B). Horns, roots and twigs might be interlaced

with the carved ‘beads’ (Fynn 1950: 127; Krige 1950: 264; Tyrrell 1968: 114)

(P-RM 529/12191, Zululand, no date; P-RM IX.14, Zululand, 1879). The

necklace was long; one specimen seen measured 74 cm (Campbell 279, no

locality, no date).

The wood used was umnyzane (Salix woodii (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 1436)) (Krige 1950: 264) (Campbell 279, no locality, no date).

The necklace was awarded to men who had slain an enemy in battle

(Ludlow 1882: 169; Krige 1950: 264). An extra ‘bead’ was said to have been

added for each man killed (Fynn 1950: 127; Owen 1926: 71; Ludlow 1882: 169).

The necklaces termed ubande and umgexo womthombothi were made of

thin lengths of aromatic umthombothi wood (Spirostachys africana (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1443)) sometimes interspersed with beads (Kidd 1904,

pl. 62; Mayr 1907: 637; Krige 1950: 381, 382). This necklace was worn bv

married men and women only (Krige 1950: 302).

242 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

motatat aT fn,

rae “e

Fig. 65. Necklet. A. Zulu isigu necklet, Campbell 279. (Photograph Campbell collection.)

B. Detail of the wooden beads of the above.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 243

Drakensberg area

A necklace of uwmthombothi wood, like the one described above, was worn

by betrothed and married Ngwane women (Tyrrell 1968: 129, 130, 131).

Southern Natal

The necklace uwmgexo womthombothi, described above for the Zulu, was

worn by married men and women in southern Natal (Miller 1912-13: 854;

SAM Mariannhill photographs 303, 337, 388) (Fig. 66).

Msinga area

No information was obtained.

PENIS SHEATHS

Terms: umncedo/umncwado—prepuce cover (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

Literary sources confirm the wearing of penis sheaths, and state that they

were made of ox-hide (Krauss 1969: 211) or banana leaves or cocoons (Krige

1950: 373, 374). However, museum specimens of wooden sheaths were seen

Fig. 66. Tambuti-wood necklet, southern Natal, early twentieth

century. (Photograph Mariannhill 303 in the South African

Museum.)

244 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

(HW 768, Nqutu, 1936; Linden Museum, Stuttgart, 101973, K6ningsberg,

Natal, 1926). The latter is round, 5,4 cm long, with panels of decorative

grooving (Fig. 67).

Msinga area, Drakensberg area, southern Natal

No information was obtained.

SNUFF-BOXES AND SNUFF-SPOONS

Terms: ishungu—snuff-box (originally made from the shell of the ithongwane fruit);

idosha—snuff-box; ingula—large snuff-box (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

The majority of snuff-boxes seem to have been made of calabash or fruit

shells or other materials. A few carved out of wood have been recorded. The

boxes are all roughly egg-shaped, and may be carved with longitudinal grooves

(NASKO 4828, no locality, no date) (Fig. 68). A pair of boxes may be joined

;

Fig. 67. Zulu penis sheath, Natal, 1926, Linden

Museum, Stuttgart 101973. Length 5.4 cm.

Fig. 68. Pair of Zulu snuff-boxes,

NASKO 4828. Length c. 6,5 cm.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 245

by thongs (NASKO 4828, no locality, no date) or by a wooden chain (BM 1935,

12.13.6, no locality, 1935; Linden Museum, Stuttgart, I.C. 501710, no locality,

no date).

Snuff-spoons were sometimes carved out of wood (Fynn 1950: 10).

Msinga area, Drakensberg area, southern Natal

No information was obtained.

WEAPONS

CLUBS

Terms: induku—stick of any kind, for walking, or fighting; isagila—knob stick, whose

knob is a natural part (root part) of the stick; club; carved stick with small knob; isagila

somnumzane (headman’s walking-stick); isagisha—kerrie, walking-stick (north-western

dialectal form of isagila); imphiselo—well-carved knobkerrie; isigobolo—heavy stick, cudgel,

police baton; isimongqo—large-headed, short-handled knobkerrie; ithondolozi/isithondolizi—

knobkerrie; isiswalakahla—very heavy knobkerrie (Doke & Vilakazi 1964); iwisa—large-

headed knobkerrie; insulungu—large-headed knobkerrie (Krige 1950: 402; Doke & Vilakazi

1964).

Zululand

Two types of Zulu club were noted: those with very large heads and short

shafts, and those with relatively small heads and long shafts.

Clubs of the first type averaged about 60 cm in length (Bryant 1949: 168,

408), with heads the size of a man’s fist (Fynn 1950: 78), or even of two fists

(Bryant 1949: 168). Museum specimens seen had heads about 10 cm in diameter.

Heads were generally spherical and centred on the shaft, but the heads of clubs

termed imbemba (Bryant 1949: 408) had depressions on the top and underside

of the head, and were asymmetrical (BM 6962, Natal, 1870; Linden Museum,

Stuttgart, 76793, no locality, 1912). Shafts were generally straight with blunt

butts, but might flange at the butt (NM 3122, Pietermaritzburg, 1964 (Fig. 69A);

Campbell, Lynn Acutt collection MM 942, no locality, no date)).

The second type averaged 88 cm in length, and had heads about 6,6 cm in

diameter. Most had round heads centred on the shaft, but two recent specimens,

very roughly made, had the head set to one side of the shaft (SAM-—9950,

Mahlabatini, 1970; SAM-10056, Mahlabatini, 1971). The shafts were straight

(SAM-9451, Eshowe, 1968; NM 3118E, Eshowe, 1945; NM 3119, Natal,

1906; Nqutu, 1969), or flanged at the butt (UCT 43/4, Umkomasi, 1943;

SAM-9449, Eshowe, 1968), or the butt might flange and then sharpen to a

point (SAM-6744, Natal, 1871 (Fig. 69B); SAM—9450, Eshowe, 1968)).

Decoration of the heads of either type was uncommon. The head might

be carved multi-faceted (NM 3119, Natal, 1906), or might be studded with

metal nails, although the latter is thought to have been a recent functional

rather than decorative device (Bryant 1949: 168). Decoraticn of the shaft was

more frequent. Bands of wire-work (SAM-9451, Eshowe, 1968; NM 3122,

Pietermaritzburg, 1964; Campbell, Lynn Acutt collection MM 942, no locality,

246 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

A B

Fig. 69. Zulu clubs. A. Short club with large head, Pietermaritzburg,

1964, NM 3122. B. Long club with smaller head, Natal, 1871,

SAM-6744.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 247

no date), or a solid metal band (SAM-9452, Eshowe, 1968) might be placed

just below the head, possibly mainly to strengthen this weak point, as well as

decorate it.

Some clubs were roughly finished (SAM-9950, Mahlabatini, 1970; SAM-—

10056, 10057, Mahlabatini, 1971), but most had a fine polished finish.

Clubs were carved from hard wood. The following woods are recorded:

umsimbithi (Milletia grandis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1415)) of which

the dark heart-wood especially was used (Bryant 1949: 407, 408; Doke & Vila-

kazi 1964: 756; Nqutu, 1969), umthombothi (Spirostachys africana (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1443)) (Delegorgue 1847: 219, 220), iron wood (Olea

capensis, Olea laurifolia, or Vepris lanceolata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1214)) (Krantz 1880: 100), ingayi (Elaeodendron velutinum), umnweba (Mimusops

caffra), umpumbulu (Mimusops sp.), umozane (Vepris lanceolata), umgalothi

(Strychnos henningsii) (Bryant 1949: 407, 408), wmthathi (Ptaeroxylon obliquum

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1247)) (Krige 1950: 402) and wmncaka (Rham-

nus zeyheri (Watt & Breyer-Brandwyk 1962: 883, 1322)) (Krige 1950: 402).

Chiefs only were allowed clubs or sticks of this red wood (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 883).

In order to season the wood to prevent the club from cracking later, the

bark was removed from a thick stick which was put under the manure in the

cattle kraal for a period (Krige 1950: 402).

Together with shields and spears, clubs were the Zulu war weapons (Fynn

1950: 89, 90, 222, 258; Holden 1866: 251; Anonymous 1873: 10; Krantz 1880:

101; Jenkinson 1882: 51; Bryant 1949: 168), and skill in their use was learnt by

boys when quite young (Kidd 1925: 311; Cowles 1959: 141). They were also

used in small local fights (Kidd 1925: 327; Tyler 1891: 122, 189) (Nqutu, 1969).

As a hunting-weapon the rough-hewn izagila was especially important

(Bryant 1949: 168) and was thrown to bring down birds and small buck, and

to kill snakes (Holden 1866: 251; Norbury 1880: 11; Krantz 1880: 101; Ludlow

1882: 82; Cowles 1959: 141).

During the reign of Shaka, clubs were. used for execution (Fynn 1950:

29, 78; Smith 1955: 86; Gardiner 1836: 44) (Campbell, Lynn Acutt collection

MM 942), although according to Schlosser (1972: 236, 237) only men of rank

were executed by a blow of the club.

Clubs were carried and used by men to beat time upon shields at dances

(Gardiner 1836: 57; Samuelson 1912: 145; Kirby 1934: 25) (Nqutu, 1969).

Clubs were included in the sacred ancestral objects (Lugg 1929: 359)

(Nqutu, 1969) which were carried on ritual occasions, particularly at the First

Fruits ceremony (Lugg 1929: 374, 380, 381).

Msinga area

The only information obtained for this area is that clubs, izagila, were

made of hard wood, for example umnqu (Tugela Ferry, 1970).

248 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Drakensberg area

The large heads of the iwisa club were sometimes decorated with incising

(Bergville, 1969).

Southern Natal

The iwisa club had a short shaft and fairly large head which might be

decorated with grooving or studded with nails (SAM Mariannhill photograph

563).

A long Khuze club, ighabanga, was made from hard wood, umnqayi

(Elaeodendron sp. (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1322)), which grows in

local forests (Bulwer, 1969).

WOODEN SPEARS

Term: imbemba—stick with spear-shaped head having sharp edges (Doke & Vilakazi

1964).

Zululand

Wooden spears, the same shape as the conventional war or hunting-spears,

were made for ornamental purposes (Holden 1866: 251) and were carried by

men at wedding dances (Shooter 1857: 234, 235).

It is not clear whether imbemba refers to this spear, or whether it is a

sharpened, pointed stick.

SPEAR-SHAFTS

Terms: umkhonto—assegai, spear; umdini—long-bladed assegai with medium-length

haft; ingcula—assegai with very long shank and small blade (used for small game); insusha/

intshusha—assegai with long shank, small blade; isingindi—. . . short stabbing-assegai; isipha-

pha—.. . broad-bladed assegai with short shaft; ibogo—assegai made with hard-wood shaft

(Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

Zululand

Shaka’s military successes have been attributed largely to his substituting

a shorter-hafted stabbing-spear for the long hurling-spear (Fynn 1950: 16;

Shooter 1857: 340; Holden 1963: 12, 13; Stow 1879: 899; Kidd 1925: 302).

Later, when the Zulu came into conflict with Europeans mounted and using

guns, the stabbing-weapon was not suitable and the use of the long-hafted

throwing-spear was resumed (Shooter 1857: 340).

Specimens in southern African museums of the short-hafted and large-

bladed stabbing-spear average 89 cm in shaft length (SAM-6737, Zululand,

1948; SAM-—9437, 9442, 9444, 9445, Eshowe, 1968; SAM-9957, Mahlabatini,

1970; NASKO 58/75, Eshowe, 1958; NASKO 1175, no locality, no date). The

shaft length of spears with small blades is more variable but averages 99 cm

(SAM-8319, Natal, 1960; SAM—9447, Eshowe, 1968; SAM-9956, Mahlabatini,

1970; SAM-10043, Babanango, 1971; SAM-10055, Mahlabatini, 1971). The

diameter of the shaft is about 2 cm. Both the short- and long-shafted spears

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 249

most commonly end in a flanged butt, although in both types a few specimens

with straight shafts were noted. Short stabbing spears may have tapering shafts

(SAM-6736, Zululand, 1948; SAM-9957, Mahlabatini, 1970; NASKO 1175,

no locality, no date) (Fig. 70A).

Either the heated tang of the metal spear-head (Hlabisa and Mahla-

batini, 1970) or a sharp iron tool, isiphiselo (Doke & Vilakazi 1964), was used

to burn a hole along the shaft. The tang was then carefully inserted and fixed

with glue either from the root of an ingcino plant (Schizocarphus rigidifolius

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1248, 1439)) (Doke & Vilakazi 1964; Krige

1950: 210), or of the umtunduluka tree (Ximenia caffra (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1325)) (Hlabisa, 1970), or glue, isifuce, from the bark of

Protorhus longifolia (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 49; Nongoma 1970),

or glue from the umhlontlo tree (Euphorbia ingens (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 1321)) (Mahlabatini, 1970). This joint, ingulati (Otto 1908: 1049), was

further secured by one of several means. Most commonly a sleeve of a section

of oxtail or calftail, termed inkhulathi (Doke & Vilakazi 1964) or indlodle

(Nongoma, 1970) (Krige 1950: 210) (Mahlabatini, 1970), was drawn on while

wet over a binding of sinew (SAM-9946, Eshowe, 1968) or grass (SAM-9437,

Eshowe, 1968) (Fig. 70B). The oxtail might also be glued (Nongoma, 1970),

and was bound round with string or rope until it dried and shrank, when the

string was removed (Mahlabatini and Nongoma, 1970; Babanango, 1971).

Alternatively it was bound with strips of the root of the intana creeper

(Dioscorea continifolia (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1385)) which was said

at Hlabisa (1970) to be stronger than skin (Krige 1950: 210) (SAM-6737,

Natal, 1871; SAM-—9662, Kranskop, 1970; SAM-10043, Babanango, 1971

(Fig. 70C); AFR 56/279, Weenen, 1956)); with roots (NM 88, Umsinga, 1904;

Fig. 70. Zulu spear-shafts. A. Tapering spear-shaft, Zululand, 1948, SAM-6736. B. Spear-

shaft with skin sleeve over grass binding, Eshowe, 1968, SAM-9437. C. Spear-shaft with

woven creeper binding, Babanango, 1971, SAM-10043.

250 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

NM 3118a—b, Eshowe, 1945; NM 3119a-b, d, no locality, 1964); with sinews

(Krantz 1880: 100; Krauss 1969: 207) (NM 3119c-d, no locality, 1964); with

thongs (Otto 1908: 1049) (NM 3119e, no locality, 1964); with grass, umtshumo

(Arundinella ecklonii (Doke & Vilakazi 1964)) (Otto 1908: 1049); or with wire

(SAM-9942-9945, Eshowe, 1968; AFR 56/275, Weenen, 1912-18).

Any of these bindings, particularly the root and wire bindings, might be

done in a woven pattern.

The wood most commonly used for spear-shafts was ‘assegai wood’

(Curtisia faginea) (Krantz 1880: 99; Little 1887: 171; Sim 1907: 231; Krauss

1969: 207; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1380), a hard wood which shrinks

remarkably little (Sim 1907: 231). Other hard and tough woods recorded as

being used were iklolo or ilalanyanthi (Grewia occidentalis (Sim 1907: 147;

Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 434)), icibo (Dombeya cymosa) (Doke & Vilakazi 1964:

119)), iminza (Halleria lucida (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 938, 1247))

(Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 504), uwmkele (Ehretia rigida Druce (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 149, 1321)) (Nongoma, 1970) and umnweba (Sideroxylon (Watt

& Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1323)) (Hlabisa, 1970).

One spear-maker split a branch into four longitudinal sections from which

he would make four spear-shafts (Hlabisa, 1970).

It is not recorded whether in former times the specialist who made the

head also made the shaft and fixed the head in it. Recent field information

indicated that a specialist metalworker completed the entire spear (Nongoma,

1970; Mahlabatini, 1970; Hlabisa, 1970).

Msinga area

A specimen of the small-bladed throwing type has a shaft 97 cm long,

flanging at the butt from a diameter of 2 cm to 2,5 cm. The spear-head is fixed

in the shaft by woven creeper binding (SAM—9937, Tugela Ferry, 1970). The

binding may also be of roots of a small bush, ingcolo (Schizocarpus rigidifolius

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1248)), softened in water and cut into strips.

The spear-maker said he gave the shafts a smoother finish by sanding with

sandpaper and then gave them a pale colour by rubbing with a white stone,

ichoba (Tugela Ferry, 1970).

Drakensberg area

A Ngwane spear-maker (Bergville, 1969) made shafts of the strong and

tough iminza (Halleria lucida (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 938, 1247)).

The hole for the tang of the spear-head was made with an awl, and medicine,

ukubandlovu, was put in the hole before the heated tang was inserted. The joint

might be bound with copper wire.

Southern Natal

The only record of spears in this area is a late nineteenth-century Mariann-

hill photograph (563), showing small-bladed, iwaba, and broad-bladed, ixwa,

spears. The ixwa appears to have a longer shaft than the iwaba.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING DEM

STICKS

Terms: induku—stick of any kind for walking or fighting; uhoko—1. long walking-stick

or staff, such as used by old men. 2. stick for warding off in fighting; udledlwe—long staff or

stick used by old men for walking; udondolo—long walking-staff used by old people when

travelling; umgqogqozo—walking-stick; unhlongweni—long stick or staff used by old people to

aid walking; ighabanga—walking-stick with small head (mostly made from umsimbithi wood

or umnweba wood); umqwayiba—long staff used by old women when travelling; inthonga—

1. staff, stick for carrying; walking-stick. 2. fighting-stick . . .; uzime—walking-staff; uwositik,

—walking-stick; umbudle—pointed stick used for fighting; udabe—stick shaped with a sharp-

flat edge at one end, used for jabbing in the eye when fighting; idumbu—fighting-stick; isigoi

ngotho—stout heavy stick, used for hitting; inhlabela—1. pointed fighting-stick used for

stabbing. 2. fight with stabbing-sticks; ukhandi—stick sharpened at the point and used by

boys for throwing at the imsema—target rolling downhill; isikwili—short, thick knobless

fighting-stick; isigongqwane—short heavy fighting-stick, baton, flail; isigotha—short heavy

stick or baton; isigwalo—fighting-stick; ushibedabe—stick with bevelled point; umshiza—

knobless_ fighting-stick; ithondolozi—knobkerrie; isithonga—bundle of fighting-sticks;

intshumentshu—stick with hidden iron point used for stabbing in fights; sharpened wire

weapon; isiviliba—short thick stick; baton; uwmzaca—fighting-stick; umngcweko—a fencing

with sticks. ukudladla umngcweko (to play at fencing); isishingo—fancy dancing stick; umgobo

—...the stick of a shield when fitted at the extremity with a tuft of twisted skin; umbombuluzo

—well-carved and polished stick or whip (resembling a snake for smoothness); isichopho—

fancy walking-stick with well-worked knob or other shaped handle; ihilane—well-carved

stick; inggalamba—. . . stout strong stick; isimolontshisi—short, thick stick or baton; uthi—

stick, long slender wooden stick .. . (Doke & Vilakazi 1964).

General

The function of a stick may vary according to the situation. A stick used

at dances may in no way resemble a heavy fighting-stick, but may none the less

derive from the fact that sticks were carried for protection at all times.

From specimens seen and dictionary terminology, it appears that sticks

may be viewed under the following headings: walking-sticks and ceremonial

staffs; fighting-sticks; dancing-sticks.

Zululand

Walking-sticks seen in South African museums average 127 cm in length,

but there is fair variation of lengths within this. One very long staff measures

189 cm (SAM-4279, Natal, 1925). The sticks average 2 cm in diameter, and

taper to a narrow butt.

The heads of walking-sticks offered scope to the imagination and skill

of the carver, and a variety of types occurred. Round heads were most common

(Fritsch 1872: 18; Hambly 1931, pl. 8) (SAM-2058, no locality, 1917; SAM-—

2705, Natal, 1902; SAM-4279, Natal, 1925; SAM-6741, 6742, Natal, 1871-86),

but there were also variations in the form of fluted heads which served as

snuff-boxes (NM no no., Zululand, 1935) (Fig. 71) or the representation of a

human head (Fritsch 1872: 130; NM no no., Richards Bay, no date). Some

sticks were topped by an open ring (Hambly 1931, pl. 8) (SAM-6740, Natal,

1871-86) (Fig. 72). Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964: 102) suggested that these

were chief’s sticks, but this has not been confirmed. Other heads seen include

a tapered and branded head flat in section (NM 3118d, Eshowe, 1945), a hand

DD ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 71. Zulu staffs with heads carved as snuff-boxes, Zululand, 1935, NM no no.

Fig. 72. Upper part of Zulu staff with open ring head, Natal, 1871, SAM-6740.

(DC 149, Nongoma, no date), figures of baboons (MVB III D3369, 3370, no

locality, 1907) and a half-moon shape on a stick said to be a replica of a stick

belonging to Mpanda (Campbell MM 738, no locality, no date).

The shafts of the sticks might be decorated with a spiral pattern carved in

relief (Fig. 73) (Fritsch 1872: 18; Hambly 1931, pl. 8) (SAM-—2058, no locality,

1917; SAM-2705, Natal, 1902; DC 149, Nongoma, no date), with branded

carving (SAM-6740, Natal, 1871-86; NM no no., Zululand, 1935) or with

wire binding (SAM-2705, Natal, 1902; NM no no., Zululand, 1935).

Sticks were carved from many varieties of hard wood. The species recorded

were: iqweleba (Erithraxylon zulense (Schonland 1914: 54)) (Doke & Vilakazi

1964: 719); umsimbiti (Milletia grandis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwiik 1962: 1283))

(Lugg 1929: 379; Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 756); ithambo (Trichoclaudus cinintus

(Sim 1907: 219)) (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 783); ikhukhuze (Cassine krausianus|

papillosa (Sim 1907: 190; Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 410)); idimane (Royena lucida

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 393)) (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 147); umbo-

nzane (Vepris lanceolata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 925, 1319)) (Doke &

Vilakazi 1962: 85); imbikihla (Rothmannia globosa (Sim 1907: 234; Watt &

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 253

= ‘ af

=: oN So ie hs te —

Fig. 73. Zulu stick with carved spiral pattern, 1917, SAM—2058.

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1396)) (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 37); umnweba (Mimu-

sops caffra (Sim 1907: 255; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1323)) (Doke &

Vilakazi 1964: 613); inama (Gymnosporia acuminata Szysz. (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1322)) (NM no no., Zululand, 1935); isihlalane (Strychnos

spinosa (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1446)) (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 315);

as well as umsaca, which yielded straight sticks (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 915);

umhlabampunzi, used for making Dingaan’s sticks (Doke & Vilakazi 1964: 309);

umngayi (Cassine aethiopica/Cassine velutinum (Sim 1907: 191; Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1368)); (Bulwer, 1969) and umkhulu (Trichilia roka (Sim 1907:

161; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 753, 1450, 1451)) (Nkandla, 1971).

Umncaka (Rhamnus zeyheri), a hard red wood, was reserved for the sticks of

chiefs (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 883).

Sticks were used on journeys in peacetime (Holden 1866: 251) to support

and to give to the bearer a certain unobtrusive dignity (Fritsch 1872: 130).

Sticks to support the aged had special names. A walking-stick might be used to

round up strayed cattle (Fritsch 1872: 130) and occasionally to kill game

(Holden 1866: 251). Fynn (1950: 136) records that it was forbidden to put the

point of one’s stick on the ground near the grave of Shaka’s mother, it had to

be held in the hand. According to Schlosser (1972: 214) this applied to any

grave, and the stick was to be carried over the shoulder. A stick of the hard red

Cape teak, Strychnos atherstonei (Sim 1907: 273), was not used on journeys to

the chief lest it bring bad luck (Krige 1950: 215).

Fencing with sticks was a favourite pastime of the Zulu (Samuelson 1929:

373) and consequently a variety of fighting-sticks were known, as shown in the

list of terms. Boys learnt to fight, ngcweka or qagelisana (Doke & Vilakazi 1964),

with sticks at an early age (Krige 1950: 79), but girls (Samuelson 1929: 373;

Schlosser 1972: 354) and men (Samuelson 1929: 373) also played at stick-

fighting. Two sticks were generally used, one for striking and one for parrying

(Samuelson 1929: 373; Bryant 1949: 168), or else a stick and a shield (Bryant

1949: 168). A game of fencing was started by one man challenging another

with a tap of the stick on the head (Krige 1950: 79). According to Samuelson

254 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

(1929: 373), the use of pointed sticks, ushibedabe and inhlabelo, was regarded

as unfair and cowardly and was later prohibited by Cetywayo.

Another pointed stick, ukhandi, was used by boys and young men when

playing at the game of stabbing a rolling insema melon, ukuhlaba insema

(Samuelson 1929: 374). This game taught skill in aiming and throwing.

Not enough specimens were seen to give measurements for a particular

type, except the simple fencing-sticks with a small knob (SAM-6745, Natal,

1871-86; SAM-10072, Mahlabatini, 1971), which are about 95 cm long, and

a stick with a hidden iron point which may be an intshumentshu (SAM-9954,

Mahlabatini, 1970), which is 93,5 cm long (Fig. 74).

The knobbed sticks were decorated with wire binding (SAM-—S5982, no

locality, no date), or notches at the butt end which were probably also a device

for a better grip (SAM-10072, Mahlabatini, 1971).

The same hard woods were used for fighting-sticks as for walking-sticks

and staffs (Bryant 1949: 168).

The tools used by a present-day woodcarver were an adze, isampothwe,

a bent sickle, an axe, and a knife for carving the decoration, (Nkandla, 1971).

Sticks and small shields were carried at dances (Shooter 1857: 75; Plant

1905: 39; Bryant 1949: 548), and knobbed sticks were used by young men to

beat time during the dance (Angas 1849: 71, 73, 81).

Latterly dancing-sticks have been simple rods covered with beadwork or

woven raffia (Krige 1950: 380) (SAM-7503, Natal, 1956; SAM-8984, Natal,

1963), or more elaborately carved sticks (SAM-6573, Natal, 1946; Durban 4360,

Zululand, 1939).

Drakensberg area

A Zizi woodcarver was seen making walking-sticks with heads in the form

of carved faces (Ebusingata, Bergville, 1969).

Fig. 74. Zulu stick with hidden iron point, Mahlabatini, 1970, SAM-9954.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 255

Southern Natal

Short dancing-sticks were carried by female attendants of the bride at

Khuze and Bhaca weddings (Kohler 1933: 75).

Msinga area

The only sticks recorded are three staffs in a museum collection (NM 75,

Umsinga, 1904). They are very long, ranging from 130 cm to 183 cm. Their

heads are respectively a small knob, an open ring, and two rows of branded

projections (Fig. 75). The staffs were collected by H. F. Fynn.

RITUAL OBJECTS

DIVINING-STICKS

Zululand

Three or more (Krige 1950: 300) 30 cm long sticks were used by the amabu-

kulazinti diviners. The diviner prepared the sticks with medicine before ques-

tioning them. When he let go of them they indicated their answers by falling,

jumping up or pointing in a certain direction (Miiller 1907: 770; Kidd 1925:

181, 182; Krige 1950: 300). A bundle of six or eight pencil-like sticks tied

together criss-cross, known as umabukala, was also used by this type of diviner,

who divined an answer from their rattling (Krige 1950: 300).

Sticks, izibulo, were ordered to be cut by the izinyanga zesithupha diviners,

who required their clients to beat the ground with the sticks to help the diviner

(Krige 1950: 300). The same method of divination is mentioned by Miiller

(1907: 770), who does not specify the sort of stick used.

Southern Natal

Sticks (type unspecified) were beaten on the ground by those consulting a

diviner (Kohler 1941: 30).

Msinga area, Drakensberg area

No information was obtained.

SOS GE rat po Pap ae

ee Ag LLL Chios,

Fig. 75. Head of staff with carved and branded decoration, Umsinga, 1904, NM 75.

256 ANNAES OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

SUMMARY

Wood suitable for carving has always been accessible in all parts of Natal,

and hard woods appear to have been preferred.

Carving is a man’s craft, and specialization existed in so far as skilled

carvers made the more elaborate objects, such as milk-pails and meat-dishes for

sale outside the homestead. Full-time specialists, who made their living entirely

by carving, were uncommon.

The only record obtained of the seasoning of wood was that one carver

buried it underground. It was said, however, that the wood of trees felled

when the sap flow was low was preferred.

The traditional carving tools were an axe, the blade of which was turned

in the haft to make an adze, isampothwe, and curved scraping-tools, ingwedo

and isigubo. Nowadays these are supplemented by European tools.

The objects made show characteristic style and decoration, and are in

general more elaborate than the Southern Nguni articles. A frequent decorative

device is isumpa, consisting of sections of small blocks carved in relief. It was

found on headrests, milk-pails and meat-dishes. Symmetrical patterns were

formed by placing areas of grooving at angles to each other, and are seen

especially on bowls. Incised decoration in conventional patterns occurs on

spoons and milk-pails. Many objects were decorated either with branded

patterns, or with branding on carved decoration.

SWAZI

INTRODUCTION

Availability of material

Timber is found in all regions of Swaziland, especially in the forests of

the eastern bushveld (Kuper 1947: 34). Trees growing here include the umva-

ngate (Burkea africana), umnguma (Olea verrucosa), umhlohlo (Bolusanthus

speciosus), and umtoma (Diospyras mespiliformis) (Kuper 1947: 142).

At Barberton in the Transvaal, the following were said to te commonly

used for carving: kiaat (umvangatsi (Watt & Breyer-Brandwik 1962: 1216,

1437)) (Pterocarpus angolensis), shipalatsi (Dalbergia melanoxylon), mkuhlu

(Trichilia emetica), umganu (Sclerocarya caffra), umbandu or sihomohomo

(Lonchocarpus capassa), masipane and mazilazembe (G. Velcich, Pretoria, 1963,

pers. comm.).

At Nelspruit the same trees as well as munyii (umneyi (Watt & Breyer-

Brandwijk 1962: 1433)) (Rhamnus zeyheri), umnquma (Olea africana), ntomboti

(Spirostachys africana) were used for carving (G. Velcich 1963 pers. comm.).

Practitioners

In traditional Swazi society. most adults had some degree of skill in the

crafts relevant to their sex. Individuals with particular skill, and those who

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING DSi

lived in areas particularly rich in raw materials, might make articles for others

in their free time. The best woodcarvers in Swaziland practised in the bushveld

where fine timber was found, and progressively fewer practised in the middle

and high veld. Woodcarving was usually taught by a father to his son, although

the craft did not bear sufficient status or gain to be monopolized by one family.

Even skilled carvers were never full-time specialists (Kuper 1947: 142). How-

ever, specialization was said to be increasingly the trend (Marwick 1966: 73).

Although a craftsman might set off on a journey specifically to sell his

goods, fixed and formal trading did not exist. The price for an article was

suggested by the buyer, and an admired article might simply be given to kin or

royalty (Kuper 1947: 142).

In 1963 in the Barberton area, many woodcarvers were said to be producing

good work for the curio trade, as well as axe hafts for local sale. These carvers

might be full-time specialists, depending on materials available and a market.

Work was sold at fixed cash prices. At Nelspruit little carving was done

(G. Velcich 1963 pers. comm.).

Seasoning

No information was found on the time of year for felling trees, nor on the

seasoning of timber.

Technique

There is no record in the literature of the tools used before the intro-

duction of European tools, but certain tools, a curved blade, ingwetdo, an

adze and a chopping axe, clearly of Swazi origin, were used by craftsmen

recently seen at Piggs Peak (1962) and Ingwavuma (1970). These were supple-

mented by an axe for felling the tree, a bush-knife, chisel, and drill (especially

for hollowing milk-pails and mortars), and a file, isangcelo, and sandpaper for

smoothing. Fat from around the heart of any animal, except a pig, was rubbed

into the carved object to prevent cracking and to give gloss (Ingwavuma, 1970).

The use of boot-polish for the same purpose was recorded in one instance (Piggs

Peak, 1962). Decorative branding was done with a piece of heated iron, after

which beef fat was applied to the branded sections (NASKO ET 1971/23,

Jeppes Reef, 1971).

There is no record of any ritual involved in the preparation of wood.

Certain woods had ritual value, however, namely the mbondvo and masweti

which were used for necklaces of nursing mothers of the royal household

(Kuper 1947: 76).

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

DIGGING-STICKS

Before the introduction, in the late nineteenth century, of European metal

hoes and ploughs, Swazi agriculture was carried out by means of locally made

258 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

iron hoes and digging-sticks (Kuper 1947: 137). The latter were either pointed

at one end, or ‘heated and shaped like hoes’ (Kuper 1947: 137), or ‘something

like a shovel’ (Anonymous 1916: 352). They were made of very hard wood,

umhlohlo (Bolusanthus speciosus) or impondvowendloyu (Combretum imberbe),

sometimes hardened by holding in the fire (Kuper 1947: 137). Because of the

shortness of these digging-sticks, workers had to squat down to use them

efficiently (Kuper 1947: 137).

HOE-HAFTS

Term: likhuba lemikhono—(Carolina district) long-handled hoe (Myburgh 1956: 265).

In the Carolina district the hoe-head was secured by passing the tang

through the haft and bending over the tip, wmsuka at the back (Myburgh 1956:

265).

No information was found on the shape of the traditional hoe-haft, but

today straight wooden hafts are used for store-bought hoes (Kuper 1947: 137).

HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS

HEADRESTS

Terms: isicamelo—headrest (SAM-8863, Mhabane, 1962; NASKO 1971/6, Embuzini,

1971); isigigi—headrest (Ingwavuma, 1970).

Although Schoeman (1931: 10) states that Swazi headrests were made in

great variety, specimens seen were of distinctive shape and decoration. They

consisted of a level or slightly concave cross-piece with a short carved pro-

trusion at the lower centre, supported at each end by a solid, roughly triangular

leg. The average length was 41,5 cm, and height, 14 cm. The cross-piece was

roughly rectangular and might have carved and branded decoration on the

long vertical faces (SAM—9459, Swaziland, 1940; NASKO 59/11, no locality,

1959; NASKO ET 1971/9, Embuzini, 1971). The legs were fluted and branded

on all sides (SAM-—8663, Mbabane, 1962 (Fig. 76A); SAM—9459, 9460, Swazi-

land, 1940; NASKO 8076, Bushbuckridge, 1939; NASKO 59/11, no locality,

1959; NASKO ET 1971/9, Embuzini, 1971; MVB III D1366, 1888; Mankaiana,

1962)). They were carved to give the impression of having been fitted on to the

cross-piece. Small carved and branded decorations, either a series of ridges

(SAM-8663, Mbabane, 1962; SAM-9459, Swaziland, 1940; Mankaiana, 1962),

or a curved beak-like protrusion (NASKO 8076, Bushbuckridge, 1939

(Fig. 76B); MVB III D1366, Swaziland, 1888), occurred at either end of the

cross-piece (Fig. 76B). The protrusion at the lower centre of the cross-piece

might be multi-sided (NASKO 59/11, no locality, 1959; Mankaiana, 1962) or

round (SAM-8663, Mbabane, 1962; SAM-—9460, Swaziland, 1940; NASKO

ET 1971/9, Embuzini, 1971).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 259

Fig. 76. Swazi headrests. A. Mbabane, 1962, SAM-8663. B. Bushbuck-

ridge, 1939, NASKO 8076. Length 40 cm.

Only one specimen of a different type was noted. The rectangular cross-

piece curved at the centre, and extended beyond the two solid square legs.

It was undecorated (Ingwavuma, 1970).

Headrests were carved from the solid (NASKO ET 1971/9, Embuzini,

1971). The only wood recorded was munyathi (Ingwavuma, 1970).

The tools used by an informant at Ingwavuma (1970) were a bush-knife

for carving and sandpaper for final smoothing. Fat from around the heart of

any animal, except the pig, was rubbed into the wood to prevent cracks and to

give it gloss.

260 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

According to one source a single headrest was shared by husband and

wife (NASKO ET 1971/9, Embuzini, 1971). It is often suggested that its chief

use was to raise and protect the coiffures of the women.

DISHES

Terms: /ugcwembe/lukwembe/umqwembe]ingwembe/umgcwembe—meat-dish (Myburgh

1949: 42; Schoeman 1931: 10) (NASKO ET 1971/23, Jeppes Reef, 1971; Piggs Peak and

Hlatikulu, 1962).

Swazi meat-dishes consisted of a fairly deep oval bowl about 38 cm long

and 20 cm wide, set on various types of support. Most common were four short

square or rectangular legs (EL Eth. 5394, Mbabane, 1969; G. Velcich 1963,

pers. comm.), but four multi-sided legs (SAM-6180, Swaziland, 1940; NASKO

ET 1971/23, Jeppes Reef, 1971) or a central rounded pedestal-type support

surrounded by four to six small feet (SAM-6724-6727, Swaziland, 1871-86)

(Fig. 77) were also noted. The dish might have a handle with a hole for a hanging

cord on one side (NASKO ET 1971/23, Jeppes Reef, 1971; G. Velcich 1963,

pers. comm.) or two rounded or squared handles joining on the under surface

(SAM-6727, Swaziland, 1970; SAM-8664, Mbabane, 1962 (Fig. 78); G. Velcich

1963, pers. comm.)) or no handle at all (EL Eth. 5394, Mbabane, 1969; SAM-—

6724, 6725, 6727, Swaziland, 1871-86; G. Velcich 1963, pers. comm.). Double-

bowled dishes were also made (Enqabaneni, 1962).

The dishes were decorated by branding the rim and under surface. Small

blocks of raised and vertically grooved decoration were noted on one specimen

(SAM-6180, Swaziland, 1940) (Fig. 79).

The wood said to be most commonly used for the larger dishes was umva-

ngati (Pterocarpus angolensis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1941)), while

umhlume was used for smaller dishes (Hlatikulu, 1962). Also used were umge-

wembe (EL Eth. 5394, Mbabane, 1969) and ingokoko (Ingwavuma, 1970).

Both traditional Swazi and store-bought tools were seen in use in the field.

An axe was used to fell a tree (Ingwavuma, 1970), and the carving might be

done with a curved blade, ingwetdo, and adze, a bush-knife or a file, isangcelo

(Piggs Peak, 1962; Ingwavuma, 1970). Final smoothing might be done with

sandpaper (Ingwavuma, 1970), and boot-polish might then be applied to prevent

cracking (Piggs Peak, 1962). Branding was done with a piece of heated iron,

after which beef fat was applied (NASKO ET 1971/23, Jeppes Reef, 1971).

These dishes were used only for meat, raw or cooked (NASKO ET 1971/23,

Jeppes Reef, 1971). One double-bowled dish was noted, where the meat was

served from one bowl, and the gravy from the other (Enqabaneni, 1962).

MILK-PAILS

Terms: umgenge—milk-pail (Schoeman 1931: 10; Myburgh 1956: 198, 236); ithunga—

milk-pail (Ingwavuma, 1970).

Two types were noted. The first had a bulbous shape, was lidded and

stood on feet. The feet and lugs were carved as a continuous projection (Mayer

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 261

Fig. 77. Swazi meat-dish, Swaziland, 1871, SAM-6726.

Fig. 78. Swazi meat-dish,

Mbabane, 1962,

SAM-8664.

Fig. 79. Swazi meat-dish, Swaziland, 1940

SAM-6180.

262 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

1924: 1194). The second type was cylindrical in shape with a narrowed neck

near the top and a slight bulge just below the neck (Ingwavuma, 1970). It had

two solid square lugs at the neck, and was undecorated (Fig. 80).

Woods recorded for milk-pails were ingokoko (Schoeman 1931: 10) and

umvongoti (Kigelia pinnata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1326) (Ingwavuma,

1970).

No information was found on the tools used traditionally, but in 1970 a

drill and an ingwetdo, a scraper made from a curved blade, were used to hollow

out the pail (Ingwavuma, 1970).

Fig. 80. Swazi boy carrying milk-pail, Ingwavuma,

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 263

MORTARS AND PESTLES

Terms: /ikhovu—(Nkosi) mortar (Myburgh 1949: 55); isikhodo—mortar (NASKO

ET 1971/10a, Embuzini, 1971); wmusi—(Nkosi) pestle (Myburgh 1949: 55); isimusane—pestle

(NASKO 1971/10b, Embuzini, 1971).

Swazi grain mortars were of about knee height, basically cylindrical in

shape, but tapered from the mouth to a fairly narrow waist three-quarter-way

down (Fig. 81). The base widened again from this waist, which might have a

raised carved band (Myburgh 1949, pl. 16) (Piggs Peak, 1962). One exceptional

specimen noted was a round flat-bottomed bowl about 20 cm high (NASKO

ET 1971/10a, Embuzini, 1971).

The pestle might be slightly wider at both ends, and narrower in the

middle where it was held (Myburgh 1949, pl 16) (NASKO ET 1971/10b, Embu-

zini, 1971; Ingwavuma. 1970).

Fig. 81. Swazi women stamping in a grain mortar,

Ingwavuma, 1970.

264 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

The woods used for mortars were the light marula (Sclerocarya caffra

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1262, 1320)) (NASKO ET 1971/10a, Embu-

zini, 1971) or umvingoti (Kigelia pinnata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1326)) (Ingwavuma, 1970). Jmbondvo might be used for the pestle (NASKO

ET 1971/10b, Embuzini, 1971).

No information was obtained on traditional Swazi tools used to carve

the mortars. Latterly a drill has been used to hollow out the stamping cavity

(Ingwavuma, 1970).

Mortars were used by women to stamp maize and ground-nuts (Ingwa-

vuma, 1970: NASKO ET 1971/10a, 10b, Embuzini, 1971).

SPOONS AND STIRRERS

Terms: /udjudju—churn stick (Schoeman 1935: 172); /ujuju—porridge stirrer (Myburgh

1949: 55); ingwembe—ladle (Myburgh 1949: 55); (Nkosi, Nkambule) ‘potlepel’ (Myburgh

1956: 124, 198); lugwephe—(Nkambule) small eating-spoon (Myburgh 1956: 198); ucwepe—

spoon (Piggs Peak, 1962); ijujo—stirrer (Hlatikulu, 1962).

Specimens of Swazi spoons seen in museums had the bowl and handle

in one plane. The bowl was carved in such a way that it appeared to be set

on the handle, and in some specimens a small rib extended from the handle,

beneath the bowl (SAM-8814, Mbabane, 1962) (Fig. 82A). The bowl was

round (SAM-8675, 8676, Piggs Peak, 1962; SAM-8814, Mbabane, 1962;

NASKO 59/11/(1), no locality, 1959), or pear-shaped (NASKO 4313, no

locality, no date (Fig. 82B); MVB 1359(b), no locality, 1888). In all cases the

bowl was pointed at the neck. The handle was circular (SAM-8814, Mbabane,

1962) or square in section (SAM-8675, Piggs Peak, 1962). A hole for threading

a hanging cord might be made at the top of the handle (NASKO 4313, no

locality, no date). Specimens averaged 41,6 cm in length, with bowls about

11 cm long.

All the spoons seen were branded on the bowl rim. Carved and branded

ridges frequently decorated the spoon handles (SAM-8814, Mbabane, 1962;

NASKO 59/11(1), no locality, 1959; MVB 1359(b), no locality, 1888) (Fig. 82C).

No information was obtained on the types of wood used, the makers of

the spoons or the tools used.

A large spoon, ingwembe, was used for porridge-making (Myburgh 1956:

198) and beer-making (NASKO 59/11(1), no locality, 1959), and a smaller one,

luqwephe, for eating (Myburgh 1956: 198).

The only Swazi stirrer seen had four prongs about 10 cm long, which

appeared to be modified natural branches, projecting from a simple roughly

hewn stick, 58,7 cm long (SAM-8651, Hlatikulu, 1962) (Fig. 83). Stirrers were

used to stir porridge (Myburgh 1949: 55), and special ones were used to churn

medicines on ritual occasions such as rain ceremonies (Schoeman 1935: 172).

TROUGHS

Rectangular, rough wooden troughs about 75 cm long and 20 cm high

have been made lately for feeding dogs. The use of a light wood, Sclerocarya

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 265

@ 8 &

yn = a mea ese ee & me ee

Fig. 82. Swazispoons. A. Under surface of spoon, Mbabane, 1962, SAM-8814.

B. Spoon, NASKO 4313. C. Spoon, 1881, MVB 1359(b). Length 54,5 cm.

266 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 83. Swazi stirrer,

Hlatikulu, 1962,

SAM-8651.

caffra, shaped with an adze and a chisel, was recorded (NASKO ET 15, Tambo-

khulu, 1971). No term was obtained.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

MUSICAL BOWS

Terms: /igubu—musical bow (Kirby 1934: 197; Marwick 1966: 82); umakweyana—

musical bow (Kirby 1934: 205; Piggs Peak, 1971); isitontolo—musical bow (Kirby 1934: 228);

tsikehlekehle—musical bow (Kirby 1934: 215).

Several types of musical bow were made by the Swazi. Kirby (1934: 201)

refers to the Jigubu as the ‘classic’ Swazi instrument. It consisted of a wooden

bow stave, curved by a string and attached at its lower end to a resonator

(Kirby 1934: 200; Marwick 1966: 82). The bow was about one metre long and

was made from a pliable tree branch. The wood was unworked except that the

bark was removed (Kirby 1934: 198) (NASKO 6270, no locality, 1921) and

that the tips of the stave might be grooved for the attachment of the string

(Kirby 1934, pl. 55).

The ligubu was made by men (Kirby 1934: 200). Marwick refers to it as a

‘great refuge for lovelorn youths and maidens’, and says it accompanied solo

songs (1966: 82). It was also played by men to accompany choral songs at the

First Fruits ceremony (Kirby 1934: 200).

A very similar bow, said to be of more recent adoption, was the umakwe-

yana (Kirby 1934: 205). A slender wooden bow stave had a calabash resonator

attached near its middle, at which point the string was tied back (Kirby 1934:

208). The tops of the stave might be roughly grooved for the attachment of the

string (Kirby 1934, pl. 56). It was played by girls, generally to accompany

solo singing, although two instruments tuned alike might be played together.

It was never played by married women, lest their children grow up ‘wild’

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 267

(Kirby 1934: 208). Only one extraordinarily long, 215 cm, specimen was seen

in the field (SAM-—10065, Piggs Peak, 1971) (Fig. 84).

The Swazi isitontolo was copied from the Sotho type, i.e. a cylindrical

piece of wood 20 to 25 cm long, trimmed thinner at the centre and thickest at

the tips, had two lengths of springy wood fitted into its wide ends. The tips

of these two curved pieces of wood were grooved for the attachment of the

string, which was also tied back to the central ‘barrel’. Only men played this

bow (Kirby 1934: 228, 232, 234).

Fig. 84. Swazi girl playing umakweyana,

Piggs Peak, 1962.

268 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

The utiyane or ipiano was similarly made by inserting a thin rod of wood

into a length of hollowed umsenge wood (Cussonia spicata) or a reed. It was

curved by the string (Kirby 1934: 239).

An instrument relatively recently introduced, and not very commonly

played by the Swazi, was the isikehlekehle. It consisted of a hollow bar of wood,

with a string extending from a tuning-peg at one end of the stave to a

tin resonator at the other end. It was played by men, either on its own or to

accompany a song (Kirby 1934: 215).

DRUMS

Terms: ubhababa—tambourine-type drum (Kirby 1934: 43; Huskisson 1969: 302);

machomani—tambourines; tingomana—drums (G. Velcich 1963, pers. comm.); madandane—

drum with wooden sides used for exorcising a spirit (Marwick 1966: 82).

According to Marwick (1966: 82), drums were not traditionally used by

the Swazi, although they did practise drumming by striking the ground with the

sticks of their shields or by beating on their shields with clubs or spears (Kirby

1934: 23, 24).

Drums were, however, adopted for use in divination. Two wooden drums

were recorded for the exorcising of spirits, the madandane (Marwick 1966: 82)

and the tingomana (G. Velcich 1963, pers. comm.). The madandane had a wooden

base (Marwick 1966: 82) but no description was given of its shape and size.

The average diameter of a tingomana was 45 cm. It consisted of a hollowed

wooden base over which a skin was stretched and secured with wooden pegs.

It took about one week to carve the base of a drum. A soft wood was most

commonly used, namely mganu (Sclerocarya caffra (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 55, 1320)), but other woods such as kiaat (Pterocarpus angolensis (Watt

& Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1216)), uvovovo (Schotia brachypetala (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1327)) or umvanganti, might also be used. The pegs,

which should have knots at their tips, were always made from swalasangweni

wood, which had other ritual uses for diviners.

These drums were made by specialists who took orders from diviners, and

in 1963 they sold for about R2 each. A diviner had a set of four drums, three

of which were played by one drummer, and the fourth by another (G. Velcich

1963, pers. comm.).

A tambourine-type drum, borrowed from the Tsonga, was also used for

exorcising evil spirits (Kirby 1934: 43; G. Velcich 1963, pers. comm.). A piece

of wet skin was drawn over a hoop of light wood, and was secured with wooden

pegs and with thongs laced across the underside of the drum (Kirby 1934: 43)

(UCT 36/1, no locality, 1936) (Fig. 85). The drum was held in the left hand by

these lacings and played with the right (Kirby 1934: 41).

The tambourines were made for diviners by specialists. In 1963 they sold

for between 50c and 75c (G. Velcich 1963, pers. comm.).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 269

Sue

Fig. 85. Underside of Swazi tambourine-type drum,

1936, UCT 36/1.

FLUTES

Term: umtshingosi—flute (Kirby 1934: 112; Huskisson 1970: 312).

The Swazi flute was made of reed (Kirby 1934: 112; Marwick 1966: 82),

or from the axis of the inflorescence of Cussonia spicata (Kirby 1934: 112).

In the latter case the pith was removed from the stem, and an oblique

embouchure was cut at the wide end of the hard bark tube, while the narrow

end was cut off at an oblique or right angle. The resulting conical flute was

about 75 cm long (Kirby 1934: 112).

This flute was played mainly by herd boys (Marwick 1966: 82). Kirby

states, however, that it used to be played only at the time of the First Fruits

ceremony (1934: 116).

WHISTLES

Term: /uveve—wooden whistle (Kirby 1934: 110).

A whistle, Juveve, formerly made of horn (Marwick 1966: 81), was later

imitated in wood, owing to the scarcity of game (Kirby 1934: 110). The shape of

a small animal horn was carved in hard wood, then split and the two halves

were hollowed. The sections were put together, to form a conical tube, and

covered with a wet oxtail skin. A feather dipped in animal fat was put in the

whistle, in order to prevent air-leakage or to keep the tube clean.

270 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

The whistle was used for military signals, to signal the start of a hunt

and to urge on dogs in the hunt, and in divination. Because of its use by diviners,

it was formerly forbidden to blow the whistle at the homestead except for

hunting (Kirby 1934: 110, 111).

WIND STRING INSTRUMENT (Gor4)

Term: makwindi—gora (Kirby 1934: 184).

The gora, a stringed wind instrument with a wooden stave, had been well

known but was no longer played by the 1930s (Kirby 1934: 184).

PERSONAL OBJECTS

EAR-STUDS

At the age of about six, the ear-lobes of Swazi children were slit. Initially

a short piece of reed was put into the hole (Marwick 1966: 152). These were

later replaced by wooden ear-studs, sometimes decorated with copper wire

(P-RM B IV 44, no locality, 1925). No term was obtained.

COMBS

Carved wooden combs are recorded by Tyrrell (1968: 140) who states

that they were prized by the Swazi who were very particular about the appear-

ance of their hair. It is not known when this item was adopted by the Swazis.

HEADBANDS

A headband of even-length carved wooden pegs, strung together at their

centre points, was worn by the queen mother (Duggan-Cronin 1941, pl. 127;

Kuper 1947: 211). Mbondvo wood was used for the pegs (Kuper 1947: 211).

MIRRORS

When mirrors became available, carved wooden frames were made to

mount them, and they were used by Swazi dandies (Tyrrell 1968: 139, 140).

NECKLETS

Terms: ematinta—string of wooden pegs worn by queens while nursing royal children

(Kuper 1947: 75, 76); tigu—necklaces of wooden pegs worn by war heroes (Kuper 1947: 124).

Necklets of wood and other materials, were generally worn by young

people (Myburgh 1949: 93).

Collars of even-length wooden sticks were worn by diviners, as part of

their ‘regalia’ (Beemer in Duggan-Cronin 1941, pl. 164).

A necklet of medicated wooden pegs, tiqu, was given to men who had

killed an enemy in war as a decoration and sign of achievement and as a pro-

tection against revenge from the spirits of the dead enemy (Kuper 1947: 124;

Kuper 1952: 47).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING Da

Necklets, ematinta, of pegs of mbondvo or masweti wood neatly strung

together, were carved by the royal doctor for royal mothers. The woods used

had ritual value in that they were believed to give vitality to those who touched

them. These necklets were also worn by the wives of second generation princes,

but were made of less ritually potent material. The necklets were briefly hung

round the loins of the baby, and then fastened round the neck of the mother.

They were worn while the mother suckled the child, were carefully guarded,

and buried only when the child became an adult. The ematinta served as orna-

ment, as an indication of the status of the mother, and to protect the child

(Kuper 1947: 75, 76).

PENIS SHEATHS

Terms: uwmncatsho—penis sheath (Marwick 1966: 85); umvanulo—penis sheath (NASKO

ET 1971/18, Tambokhulu, Transvaal, 1971).

Penis sheaths of wood or other materials were made by the fathers of

Swazi boys (Marwick 1966: 85) (NASKO ET 1971/18, Tambokhulu, Transvaal,

1971).

The only wooden specimen noted was a small hollowed sphere, with a

large opening at one end and a smaller opening at the other end. It is decorated

with branded grooved lines and sections of unbranded parallel grooves between

these lines (NASKO ET 1971/18, Tambokhulu, Transvaal, 1971).

The woods used for penis sheaths were mnangati, mfuce (Marwick 1966: 85)

and spalatse (shipalatsi, Dalbergia melanoxylon (G. Velcich 1963, pers. comm.))

(NASKO ET 1971/18, Tambokhulu, 1971).

PIPES

Pipes were rare (Marwick 1966: 80) and no information on their manufac-

ture or use was obtained.

SNUFF-BOXES

Although snuff was said to be popular (Marwick 1966: 80), no information

was obtained on wooden snuff-boxes.

WEAPONS

AXE-HAFTS

Terms: sizeze—battle-axe with straight points; intsanga—battle-axe with flanged tips

(Kuper 1947: 124); isizenge—battle-axe (Ingwavuma, 1970).

The haft heads of Swazi battle-axes appear to be of four types: spindle-

shaped (NM Lady Saunders collection, 23, no locality, no date; NASKO 4353,

no locality, no date); round (NASKO 4354, no locality, no date); round with

one face flat (SAM-6723, Swaziland, 1871-86; NASKO 4335, no locality,

no date) (Fig. 86A), or straight but slightly flanged (AFR 42/442, Lobamba,

iD ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

1941). The remainder of the haft was straight, but widened and then tapered to

a point at the butt (SAM-6723, Swaziland, 1871-86; SAM-6819, Swaziland,

1871-86; NM Lady Saunders collection 23, no locality, no date). The average

length of museum specimens seen was 77 cm.

The round-headed specimen was decorated with carved concentric rings

(NASKO 4354, no locality, no date). Wire binding, possibly for strengthening

as well as decorative purposes, was used just below the head of the haft (NM

Lady Saunders collection 23, no locality, no date; AFR 42/442, Lobamba,

1941).

No information was found on the woods preferred, nor on the maker or

the tools used.

Axes were used in warfare (Kuper 1947: 124).

Domestic axes were used for chopping wood (SAM-6819, Swaziland, 1871)

(Fig. 86B).

CLUBS

Terms: indvuku—knobkerry with notches cut in the head to make the blows more effective

(Kuper 1947: 124); ingindla—fighting-stick (Hlatikulu, 1962).

From sources available it appears that Swazi clubs had smaller heads and

longer shafts than noted among other Nguni groups. Swazi clubs tended to

have the head placed asymmetrically on the shaft (Duggan-Cronin, 1941,

Fig. 86. Swazi axes. A. Battle-axe, Swaziland, 1871, SAM-—6723. B. Chopping-

axe, Swaziland, 1871, SAM-6819.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING yy)

pl. 132), another head was plain but flattened slightly on top and bottom

(Duggan-Cronin 1941, pl. 131, 132, 142), and the usual round head was also

noted (MVB III.D.774, no locality, 1882).

Clubs were amongst the Swazi war weapons (Kuper 1947: 124), and were

also used for hunting (Kuper 1952: 29). Clubs were prohibited at the First

Fruits (/newala) ceremonies, although war dress was worn, in order to prevent

bloodshed at possible outbreaks of fighting (Kuper 1947: 203).

SPEAR-SHAFTS

Terms: sikhali sokujijimeta sijula—throwing-spear which had a small lanceolate head and

long handle (Engelbrecht 1930: 16; Kuper 1947: 124); Jukhali—short stabbing-spear with

long head (Engelbrecht 1930: 16); lidjozi—stabbing-spear with broad head, sometimes carried

for ornament (Engelbrecht 1930; 16; Kuper 1947: 217); umdlundlu—stabbing-spear with

long narrow head (Kuper 1947: 124).

The length of Swazi spear-shafts varied according to the size of the blade

(Anonymous 1916: 352). The longest shaft was made for the small-headed

hunting-spear, sikhali sokujijimeta or sijula (Engelbrecht 1930: 16; Kuper

1947: 124), and the shortest shaft for the stabbing-spear /ukhali (Engelbrecht

1930: 16), lidjozi or umdlundlu (Kuper 1947: 124). The average length of museum

specimens seen was | m. The shafts generally tapered slightly towards the butt

(SAM-6728-6729, 2730, Swaziland, 1871-86; NASKO 4209, no locality, no

date) or were straight (AFR 42/456, Lobamba, 1941), or finished in some

decoration at the butt (NASKO 59/52, no locality, 1959; MVB SA III D.729,

Merensky collection, 1883). The point where the spear-head is inserted in the

shaft might be bound with woven wire (Engelbrecht 1930: 16; SAM-6728,

6730, Swaziland, 1871-86; AFR 42/456, Lobamba, 1941; NASKO 59/52, no

locality, 1959), plaited creeper (SAM-6729, Swaziland, 1871-86) (Fig. 87),

woven grass (MVB Merensky collection, 1883 and Meyer collection 1888),

sinew (MVB Merensky collection, 1883 and Meyer collection 1888), or the

root fibres of the intsana creeper (Engelbrecht 1930: 16), or secured with a

cow-tail sleeve (Mankaiana, 1970). The butts of hunting-spears might be

decorated with animal tails (Engelbrecht 1930: 16; Tyrrell 1968: 139) (SAM-

6729, Swaziland, 1871-86) (Fig. 87).

Fig. 87. Swazi spear-shaft with plaited creeper binding, and skin sleeve at butt, Swaziland,

1871, SAM-6729.

274 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

The spear-head was fixed in the shaft by means of glue obtained from

burning the root of a certain shrub. The head was put in the warm glue (Anony-

mous 1916: 352; Engelbrecht 1930: 16) which on cooling hardened so that it

was impossible to remove the head without breaking the shaft (Anonymous

1916: 352).

One type of wood used for the shaft was the hard and tough umphala

(Brachylaena discolor (Palmer & Pitman 1972 3: 2151, 2153)) (Mankaiana,

1970).

Long-shafted spears were used for hunting and for slaughtering domestic

animals, and the shorter type was used for spearing large game but especially

for fighting at close quarters. Short spears were also carried as an ornament

(Engelbrecht 1930: 16).

Like clubs, a man’s spears were buried with him, but the metal heads were

removed and the shafts broken lest he fight with the ancestral spirits (Marwick

1966: 223).

The king on his installation received as part of the royal emblems a spear

which was rehafted for each new king (Kuper 1947: 78).

STAFFS

Another of the emblems the king received on his installation was a wooden

staff (Kuper 1947: 78).

STICKS

Terms: inseza/ingindla—a stick (Hlatikulu, 1962).

Swazi sticks have heads carved in deep grooves in a characteristic style

(SAM-8650, Hlatikulu, 1962; SAM-9977, Ingwavuma, 1970; SAM-—10381,

no locality, 1973) (Fig. 88).

Inxa wood was used at Ingwavuma (1970). The sticks were cut from tree

branches, and while the head was carved, the shaft might be left natural,

retaining the bark (SAM-8650, Hlatikulu, 1962; SAM-9977, Ingwavuma,

——

Fig. 88. Head of Swazi stick with characteristic carving, Ingwavuma,

1970, SAM-9977.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING DAS

1970; SAM-10381, no locality, 1973). The heads were rubbed with ox fat to

prevent cracking (Coertze 1930: 17). Ox-hide was sometimes placed round the

stick of a young boy of about 16 when he received his first real spear (Coertze

1930: 16).

A Swazi man’s weapons were buried with him, but his sticks were broken

lest he fight with the spirits (Marwick 1966: 223).

RITUAL OBJECTS

DIVINING-TABLETS

Divining-tablets were oval pieces of wood about 4 cm long and about

2,5 cm wide across the middle. The tablets were flat on the under surface and

curved on top. One end, the ‘face’, was cut off blunt, while the other end was

more pointed. Each tablet had an individual design on its upper surface. Diviners

threw the tablets and interpreted their message by the way they fell (Lebzelter

1934: 257, 258).

SUMMARY

Swaziland and the surrounding areas of the Transvaal and Natal inhabited

by Swazi people are well provided with timber-yielding trees. Although wood-

carving was not traditionally a full-time specialist occupation, it has increasingly

become so. Articles were made by the men of the homestead, and objects of

ritual value might be made by a diviner.

The traditional tools used were a scraper and an adze, nowadays supple-

mented with suitable store-bought tools.

The variety of objects made does not differ markedly from that produced

by other Nguni groups. A distinctive Swazi style is seen in the decoration of

certain objects, for example the spiral carving on the heads of sticks, and the

fluted and branded legs of headrests.

SOUTHERN TRANSVAAL NDEBELE

INTRODUCTION

Ayailability of material

The area occupied by the Ndzundza is sufficiently well wooded to provide

material for carving (Weiss 1963: 11). The tambuti tree, Spirostachys africana

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1393), is sought after for its aromatic wood,

but is not found in all parts (Weiss 1963: 59).

No information regarding the Manala and Hwaduba areas was found.

Practitioners

Despite the general availability of wood, it was found that by 1963 no

carving was being done by the Ndzundza (Weiss 1963: 11). Specialists made

tambuti necklets in the areas where the wood was found (Weiss 1963: 59).

No information regarding the Manala and Hwaduba areas was found.

276 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Seasoning

No information on seasoning or treatment of wood was found.

Technique

And adze, isiphotho, was formerly used by the Ndzundza for wood-carving

(Weiss 1963: 74). No further information on traditional or modern tools was

found for any of the groups.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

DIGGING-STICKS

Term: ingembo—(Manala) digging-stick (Van Warmelo 1930: 100).

No further information on digging-sticks was found.

HOES

Term: ilembe—(Manala) hoe (Van Warmelo 1930: 103).

No further information on hoes was found.

HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS

FLOOR SMOOTHERS

A wooden floor smoother seen at Nebo was spatulate in shape, with the

handle at a slight angle to the flat smoothing or beating section (1973) (Fig. 89).

STIRRERS

Term: amaphini—(Manala) porridge sticks (Van Warmelo 1930: 38).

No further information was obtained.

PERSONAL OBJECTS

NECKLETS

Terms: umthombothi—(Manala) necklace of short bits of wood from the umthombothi

tree (Van Warmelo 1930: 35); mtamboti—(Ndzundza) rectangular flat wooden tablet with

carved designs (Weiss 1963: 75; Groblersdal, 1967).

Fig. 89. Ndzundza floor smoother. Nebo, 1972.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING i |

The Manala umthombothi necklet, consisting of short pieces of tamboti

wood strung together, might be made by a youth for the girl he was courting

(Van Warmelo 1930: 35).

The Ndzundza mtamboti necklet was different and consisted of flat pieces

of wood, usually rectangular (SAM-10149, Groblersdal, 1972; NASKO 68/80,

Groblersdal, 1968) but sometimes triangular (Groblersdal, 1967), with short

projections for attachment to the cord. The tablets were about 8 cm long and

5 cm wide (SAM-10149, Groblersdal, 1972; NASKO 68/80, Groblerdsal,

1968). They were decorated on one face with carved geometric designs (Weiss

1963: 59; Tyrrell 1968: 89) (SAM-10149, Groblersdal, 1972) (Fig. 90) and

latterly also with buttons and strips of plastic (NASKO 68/80, Groblersdal,

1968). Five to eight pieces were strung together. Nowadays beads, coins and

other objects may be added (Weiss 1963: 58, 59).

They were made from the wood from which they take their name, umtho-

mbothi (Spirostachys africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1325)) (Weiss

1963: 59) (Groblersdal, 1967; SAM-10149, Groblersdal, 1972; NASKO 68/80,

Groblersdal, 1968). This tree is found in certain areas only, and the mtamboti

tablets were carved by specialists in these areas (Weiss 1963: 59). A set, usually

of eight pieces, was bought from the maker and was strung by the buyer (Weiss

1963: 59).

The necklet was worn as part of festive dress by all ages and both sexes

(Weiss 1963: 59) (NASKO 68/80, Groblersdal, 1968). The necklet was also

described as an amulet to drive away evil dreams (Weiss 1963: 75).

A necklace of even-length pegs made of wood with medicinal properties

was worn by diviners (Tyrrell 1968: 88, 89).

Fig. 90. Ndzundza tambuti-wood necklet,

Groblersdal, 1972, SAM-10149.

278 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

WEAPONS

AXE-HAFTS

A Ndzundza axe-haft seen had a spindle-shaped head, narrowing into a

straight haft with slightly rounded butt (SAM-6779, Middelburg, Dunn collec-

tion, 1871-86) (Fig. 91).

No information for the Manala or the Hwaduba was obtained.

SPEAR-SHAFTS

Term: umkhondo—(Manala) spear (Van Warmelo 1930: 102).

A Ndzundza spear with a shaft 97 cm long has the head of the shaft,

where the metal tang is inserted, covered with a skin sleeve. The shaft is straight

except for the butt which is carved in a bulbous shape (SAM-6780, Lydenburg,

Dunn collection, 1871-86) (Fig. 92).

No information for the Manala, other than the term, was obtained.

STICKS

Terms: umbhongo—(Manala) thick stick (Van Warmelo 1930: 99); ubhutshulo/udludlu—

(Manala and Ndzundza) a stick about four feet (120 cm) long with a bunch of ostrich feathers

at the top used at various ceremonies (Van Warmelo 1930: 35, 99, 100; Weiss 1963: 73);

idondolo—(Manala) long walking-stick (Van Warmelo 1930: 100); (Ndzundza) long stick

decorated with beads (Weiss 1963: 74) (SAM-10148, Groblersdal, 1972); indonga—(Manala)

stick; isidigo—(Manala) knob of an indonga stick (Van Warmelo 1930: 100); chingwana—

(Ndzundza) dancing-stick (Weiss 1963: 74).

Fig. 92. Ndzundza spear-shaft with skin sleeve at the head, and carved butt, Lydenburg,

1871, SAM-6780.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 279

Besides that contained in the terms, no information on the Manala or

Ndzundza knobbed sticks was found. A pair of sticks, one for striking and

one for parrying, was used by Manala boys for fighting (Van Warmelo 1930:

33, 34). Ndzundza boys at initiation school carried a pair of 2 m-long whitened

sticks formerly cut by the youths themselves, but nowadays given them by the

chief (Weiss 1963: 62).

The sticks described below could not be classified as weapons by function,

but it is probable that they had their origin as sticks for defence.

The ubhutshulo or udludlu was known by the Manala and the Ndzundza,

and was a straight and slender 120 cm-long stick decorated at the top with

ostrich feathers. It was used on ceremonial occasions (Van Warmelo 1930: 35,

pl. facing p. 58; Weiss 1963: 73). Every Ndzundza family had an udlundlu

heirloom which was passed to the eldest son when he married (Weiss 1963: 48).

A bride holding a beaded ‘stick of marriage’ is illustrated by Tyrrell (1968: 88).

This is possibly a modern version of the wdludlu.

Beaded dancing-sticks, chingwana, knobbed (NASKO 8420, Pokwani,

1941; NASKO 71/2, no locality, 1971; NASKO 67/90, Groblersdal, 1967), or

with heads carved in other fanciful designs (Weiss 1963: 58; Tyrrell 1968: 88)

were carried by Ndzundza women and children at dances.

Another Ndzundza stick, apparently of recent origin, idondolo, with a

tennis-ball head set on a straight wooden shaft, was beaded by a young woman

and given to her father-in-law when he delivered the Jobola cattle (Weiss 1963:

57) (Fig. 93).

SUMMARY

Very little wood-carving appears to have been done lately by this group

although suitable material was available in the area occupied. There is no

record of earlier practice.

Objects made differed from those used by southern Nguni groups. Mortars,

for example, were not made because ground grain was preferred (Weiss 1963:

20). The floor beater was copied from those of the neighbouring Sotho. The

tambuti necklets made by the Ndzundza were peculiar and distinctive. A

seemingly large variety of sticks, mostly for ceremonial use, was carved and

beaded.

No information for the Hwaduba group was obtained.

Fig. 93. Ndzundza beaded stick, Groblersdal, 1972, SAM-10148.

280 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

NORTHERN TRANSVAAL NDEBELE

INTRODUCTION

Availability of material

A large variety of timber-yielding trees is found in the Potgietersrus area,

and the inhabitants of the area formerly had a thorough knowledge of the trees

(Galpin 1924: 5).

The woods used by the Ndebele at Zebediela in 1972, Peltophorum afri-

canum and Boscia rehmanniana, were known by Sotho names. Both are hard

woods.

Practitioners, seasoning and technique

No information was obtained.

HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS

BOWLS

Terms: isikenga—(Letwaba) wooden bowls used for milk (Pietersburg, 1967, 1969);

sicenge—(Letwaba) deep wooden bowl (Pietersburg, 1967); mogopo—(Moletlane) wooden

dish (Zebediela, 1972).

Round bowls, both with and without two handles, seen in the field (Zebe-

diela, 1972) were the only specimens recorded (Fig. 94).

MORTARS AND PESTLES

Terms: /ehudu—(Moletlane) mortar; motshe—(Moletlane) pestle (Zebediela 1972).

(These are both Sotho terms.)

A Moletlane mortar seen at Zebediela (1972) was cylindrical, narrowing

to a waist about two-thirds down, round which a raised band was carved

Fig. 94. Northern Transvaal Ndebele bowls, Zebediela, 1972.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 281

(Fig. 95). The mortar was made of mosetla (Peltophorum africanum (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1278)), a medium-hard wood (Codd 1951: 66).

The pestle was a straight length of wood, rounded at one end. Pestles

were made of any available wood (Zebediela, 1972).

Fig. 95. Northern Transvaal Ndebele mortar and pestle, and small feeding-

trough, Zebediela, 1972.

SPOONS AND STIRRERS

Terms: /eho—(Moletlane) spoon (Zebediela, 1972; NASKO 61/149, Potgietersrus, 1961);

leho la gothsola—spoon for dishing porridge from pot (NASKO 61/147, Potgietersrus, 1961);

lefehlo—(Moletlane) stirrer (Zebediela, 1972). (These are all Sotho terms.)

Spoons seen were relatively long, about 45 cm, and had fairly large oval

(NASKO 61/147, Potgietersrus, 1961) or pear-shaped (NASKO 61/149, Pot-

gietersrus, 1961) bowls, carved at a very slight angle to the handle. The bowl

might have a raised rim (NASKO 61/149, Potgietersrus, 1961), which was the

only form of decoration. At the tip of the handle, which might be circular

(NASKO 61/149, Potgietersrus, 1961) or square (NASKO 61/147, Potgietersrus,

1961) in section, a second small bowl NASKO 61/149, Potgietersrus, 1961)

(Fig. 96) or a spatulate decoration (NASKO 61/147, Potgietersrus, 1961) might

be carved.

Large flat-bowled spoons were used for dishing porridge from the pot

(NASKO 61/147, Potgietersrus, 1961). The small bowls of the double-bowled

spoons, were used for serving morogo, relish (NASKO 61/149, Potgietersrus,

1961).

282 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 96. Northern Transvaal Ndebele spoon,

Potgietersrus, 1961, NASKO 61/149.

Stirrers, seen in use at Zebediela (1972), were made of hard mpepe wood

(mphiphi, Boscia rehmanniana) (Galpin 1924: 11; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 1280)).

TROUGHS

Term: /egopo—trough (Zebediela, 1972).

Roughly carved feeding-troughs made of mosetla (Peltophorum africanum

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1278)) were seen at Zebediela in 1972.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

MUSICAL BOWS

Term: isitontolo—(type of) musical bow (Kirby 1934: 233).

A musical bow, known by a Zulu name but made in the Sotho style, was

played by Ndebele at Potgietersrus in the 1930s. It consisted of a central ‘barrel’

of syringa wood (Melia azederach) into the ends of which curved pieces of

morethloa (Salix sp.) were fitted. This stave was formerly strung with giraffe-tail

hair, later with wire, tied back at the centre of the ‘barrel’. The instrument was

made by the performer, who used an axe to shape and a knife to decorate the

central ‘barrel’, and fire to curve the end pieces. An instrument was highly

prized by the owner, and was kept for a lifetime (Kirby 1934: 233, 234, pl. 64).

DRUMS

Term: moropa—drum (UCT 38/24, Potgietersrus, 1938). (The term is Sotho.)

The only record of a northern Transvaal drum is a museum specimen

consisting of a hollow wooden cylinder, 55 cm high and 26 cm in diameter at

the head, but with a narrower base. A handle is carved at the side. Wooden

pegs and thonging attach the skin head (UCT 38/24, Potgietersrus, 1938)

(Fig. 97).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 283

Fig. 97. Northern Transvaal Ndebele drum,

Potgietersrus, 1938, UCT 38/24.

WEAPONS

STICKS

Term: phatla—(Letwaba) stick (Pietersburg, 1967).

Sticks, phatla, were carried by Letwaba boy initiates (Pietersburg, 1967).

SUMMARY

Very little information on northern Transvaal Ndebele wood-carving

could be obtained owing to the scarcity of literature on the group, and to the

fact that recent movements of the group have destroyed much of the traditional

culture.

The record of available timber in the area indicates that wood-carving

should not have been limited by scarcity of material.

The objects which were noted show both in style and terminology the strong

influence of neighbouring Sotho groups.

284 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

NDEBELE (MATABELE) OF ZIMBABWE

INTRODUCTION

Ayailability of material

The area occupied by the Ndebele of Zimbabwe (formerly known as

Rhodesian Ndebele) is well wooded, and the use of many species was recorded.

The soft umganu (Sclerocarya caffra) appeared to be the most commonly used

wood. Other soft woods used were umdhlandhlovu (Pterocarpus rotundifolius

(Codd 1951: 76, 77; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1319)), makulu (Crosso-

pteryx febrifuga (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1972: 898, 1261)), umgugudu

(Pseudocassine transvaalensis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 184, 1320)).

The following hard woods were used: itejane (Combretum hereroense

(Galpin 1924: 14; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1252)), umpafa (Ziziphus

mucronata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 884, 1323)) umkaya (Acacia

nigrescens (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 546, 1321)), inondo=umnondo

(Burkea africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 562, 1322)), umguma/

umquma (Olea africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 808, 1320)), ubande

(Spirostachys africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 436, 1316)).

Practitioners

Wood-carving, ukubaza, was done by men, who if particularly skilled,

might be specialists (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 60, 61). Clubs were made by

the Zulu caste of the Matabele invaders in the late nineteenth century (Hughes

& Van Velsen 1955: 61; Hughes & Summers 1955: 781). Recent fieldwork

indicated that there were a number of specialists making such objects as bowls,

snuff-boxes and stools (Tjolotjo and Essexvale, 1973). Although the craft was

said to be an old one learnt from the forefathers (Essexvale, 1973), it is nowadays

not necessarily passed from father to son (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Seasoning

The seasoning of wood before carving was recorded only once (Essexvale,

1973). Wilkerson (1943: 15) states that the wood used for the handles of tools

was hard and durable when dry, indicating the possibility that the wood was

worked green.

Technique

The tool most commonly used for carving both traditionally and at present

is the adze, isancelo (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 61) (Tjolotjo, Essexvale and

Bulawayo, 1973) (Fig. 98), which may be made by the carver himself (Tjolotjo,

1973). Nowadays this is supplemented by store-bought tools, a hammer,

isandu, and chisels (Tjolotjo, Essexvale and Bulawayo, 1973).

The completed carving may be smeared with ox fat, and stored wrapped

in plastic, to prevent damage from the heat (Tjolotjo, 1973).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 285

Fig. 98. Ndebele woodcarver using an adze,

Tjolotjo, 1973.

Decoration on carved objects is by branding, done with an adze blade

or any other piece of metal heated in the fire (Tjolotjo, 1973) (Fig. 99). No

characteristic decoration, either in form or carved or branded patterns, was

noted.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS

HOE-HAFTS

Term: umpini—long haft of hoe (O’Neil 1910: 147).

Hafts carved for Ndebele-made hoe-heads, and for later store-bought

hoe-heads (O’Neil 1910: 148), had rounded heads into which the tang of the

hoe was inserted, and which narrowed into a straight haft (O’Neil 1910: 147)

(I. McCalman collection, Bulawayo; Tjolotjo, 1973) (Fig. 100 lower). Long

and short hafts were made (O’Neil 1910: 148) from special trees with wood

which was easy to work, but hard and durable when dry (Wilkerson 1943: 15).

The following were recorded: itetshane/umkosikazi (Combretum hereroense

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1252, 1322)), umdhlandhlovu (Pterocarpus

rotundifolius (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1319)) (O’Neil 1910: 147). Hoe-

hafts were made by men (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 61).

286 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 99. A carver demonstrating branding,

Tjolotjo, 1973.

Fig. 100. Upper—Ndebele axe, Essexvale, McCalman collection, Bulawayo.

Lower— Ndebele hoe, Essexvale, McCalman collection, Bulawayo.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 287

The tool used traditionally was the adze, insancelo (Hughes & Van Velsen

1955261):

Long-handled hoes were used by women cultivators for breaking up new

hard ground. This function had not, in the early twentieth century, been taken

over by the plough (O’Neil 1910: 148), but by the 1950s hoes were being used

only for weeding very small plots (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 56). The short-

handled hoe was used to make furrows and ridges in the garden, and for weeding

(O’Neil 1910: 148, 151).

THRESHING-STICKS

Term: ibubila—long stout pole for threshing (O’Neil 1911: 51).

A stick about 90 cm long (O’Neil 1911: 193), possibly knobbed (Smith

1975: 220), was held in each hand by a ring of threshers who beat the corn

either alternately with each stick (Smith 1975: 220) or simultaneously with

both sticks (O’Neil 1911: 193). When only one or two threshers were available

a single ‘long stout pole’, ibubila, was used to thresh corn by stamping it in a

small hole (O’Neil 1911: 193).

HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS

BOWLS

Term: umganu—wooden bowl (O’Neil 1911: 238).

Every household possessed several wooden bowls of various sizes (O’Neil

1911: 238). Specimens seen in museums and in the field ranged in diameter

across the mouth from about 20 to 37 cm. They were simple, deep, round bowls,

sometimes with handles (Bulawayo Natn. Mus. 5 (1851) Hope Fountain, no

date). The bowls were decorated by branding on the rim and under surface

(SAM-1343, Empandeni Mission, Mangwe, 1911; I. McCalman collection

Bulawayo, Matshetshe, no date (Fig. 101); Tjolotjo, 1973)).

The woods used for the bowls were the iganu/umganu (Sclerocarya caffra

(Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 55, 1246)) (O’Neil 1911: 238; Hughes &

Van Velsen 1955: 61) (SAM-1343, Empandeni Mission, Mangwe, 1911;

Tjolotjo, 1973).

Men carved the bowls using an adze, isancelo, to do both the rough hewing

and finer carving (O’Neil 1911: 238; Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 61) (Tjolotjo,

1973 ). Branding was done by heating the adze blade in the fire and then holding

it against the wood (Tjolotjo, 1973). Although men usually made the utensils

needed by their families, a bowl might be bought from a neighbouring home-

stead (Essexvale, 1973).

The bowls were used for serving cooked food (Smith 1975: 227, 228;

O’Neil 1911: 238, 269).

288 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

“a ere

Fig. 101. Ndebele bowl,

Empandeni Mission,

Mangwe, 1911,

SAM-1343.

FLOOR BEATERS

Terms: umzinda—floor beater. (I. McCalman collection Bulawayo, Essexvale, no date);

isitshayo —floor beater (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Floor beaters about 45 cm long consisted of a head which was flattened

underneath and curved on top, set at an angle to the handle. The head comprised

about two-thirds and the handle one-third of the total length (O’Neil 1911: 111)

(I. McCalman collection Bulawayo, Essexvale, no date (Fig. 102) (Tjolotjo,

1973)).

They were carved from a hard, heavy wood (Wilkerson 1943: 15), such as

umpondo (Baphia obovata (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 559, 1323)) (Tjolotjo,

1973).

The beaters were used to beat down until hard the wet black earth of the

floor of a new hut (Tjolotjo, 1973). Final polishing was done with a round stone

(O'Neil 1911: 111).

Fig. 102. Ndebele floor beaters,

Tjolotjo, 1973.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 289

HEADRESTS

Term: umgamelo/umtiya—headrest (O’Neil 1911: 235).

Carved wooden headrests, wmgamelo or umtiya, or simply a smooth log,

were used to support the neck when sleeping (O’Neil 1911: 235).

MEAT-DISHES

Terms: umgwebe—meat-dish (Tjolotjo, 1973); umganu—meat-dish (McCalman collec-

tion, Bulawayo, Halisupa, no date).

Matabele meat-dishes were roughly rectangular or oval in shape, deeper

than the Zulu meat-trays, with a handle at both ends. The handles might be

carved to continue on the under surface of the dish and thus form two parallel

runners at the base (McCalman collection, Bulawayo, Halisupa, no date;

Tjolotjo, 1973) (Fig. 103). Specimens seen in, museums and in the field averaged

43 cm in length. The rim and under surface of the dish were often decorated by

branding (McCalman collection, Bulawayo, Matshetshe, no date; Tjolotjo,

1973) (Fig. 104).

The light umganu wood (Sclerocarya caffra) was used for the dishes.

An adze was used for the rough and finer carving, and the adze blade was

heated on the fire to do the branding (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Meat was served from these dishes (McCalman collection Bulawayo,

Tjolotjo, 1973).

zee eee

Fig. 103. Undersides of Ndebele meat-dishes, Tjolotjo, 1973.

290 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 104. Ndebele meat-dishes, Hillside,

McCalman collection, Bulawayo.

MILK-PAILS

Terms: isiganu—wooden milk-pail (O’Neil 1911: 236); ithunga—milk-pail (McCalman

collection, Bulawayo, Matshetshe; Tjolotjo, 1973); isintu—milking-vessel (ithunga was said

to be the ‘old word’ and isintu the ‘new word’ for a milk-pail (Tjolotjo 1973)).

Matabele milk-pails were of two types. The first was a cylinder, sometimes

with two lugs near the mouth (O’Neil 1911: 238) (McCalman collection, Bula-

wayo, Matshetshe, no date; Tjolotjo, 1973) (Fig. 105). The museum specimen

seen was 26 cm high and 25 cm in diameter (McCalman collection, Bulawayo,

Matshetshe, no date) (Fig. 106).

The second type was more elaborate, consisting of a lidded, round-bottomed

vessel narrowing towards the mouth. Both the pail and lid might have feet

(Burrow 1971: 49) (BM 9885, Matabeleland, 1896; BM 1921-10-28-9, no

locality, 1921) (Fig. 107).

The first type of pail was undecorated, the second might have decorative

zigzag carving (BM 1921-10—28-9, no locality, 1921) or be blackened all over

by branding (BM 9885, Matabeleland, 1896). The pails were carved by men

from the tough, hard inondo (Burkea africana (O’Neil 1911: 238; Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 562, 1322)), or from umganu (Sclerocarya caffra

(Tjolotjo, 1973).

The tools recorded for carving milk-pails were a ‘crooked assegai’, i.e. a

bent blade or gouge (Burrow 1971: 49), and an adze, isancelo (Hughes &

Van Velsen 1955: 61) (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Pails of the first type were shaped to be held between the knees of the

squatting milker (Wilkerson 1943: 15). The Smith expedition in 1835 bought

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 291

Ve a il baa i yl Ak

Fig. 106. Ndebele milk-pail, Matshetshe,

milk-pail, Tjolotjo, 1973. McCalman collection, Bulawayo.

Height. c. 29 cm.

thirty-five wooden milk-pails, which indicates the extent of their use at that

time (Burrow 1971: 70, 87). In the early 1970s milk-pails were still in common

use (Tjolotjo, 1973). The second type of milk-pail described was probably not

used for milking into, but for keeping the milk at the homestead. The lid

might have been used as a drinking-cup.

MORTARS AND PESTLES

Terms: ingiga—mortar; ungigo—pestle (O’Neil 1911: 269); ingeba—stamping-block

(Tjolotjo, 1973).

Matabele mortars were about 30 cm tall (Tjolotjo, 1973), just under knee-

height (O’Neil 1911: 270, 271). They were cylindrical, tapering towards the

bottom, where they widened again to form a steady base (Tjolotjo, 1973)

(Fig. 108). A raised band might be carved at this point (O’Neil 1911: 270, 271).

The mortar might be decorated by branding (Tjolotjo, 1973).

A mortar may be carved from the trunk of a soft wood such as iganu

(Sclerocarya caffra (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 55, 1246)) (O’Neil 1911:

269).

The pestle was a straight pole, about 160 cm long, rounded at both ends

(O’Neil 1911: 269; Tjolotjo, 1973). No specific information was found on the

woods used for pestles, although it is stated that ‘special trees’ were used

(Wilkerson 1943: 15). The pestle was held in the middle by both hands by the

girls and women who did the stamping (O’Neil 1911: 269).

292 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 107. Ndebele lidded milk-pail, 1921,

BM 1921-10-28-9. Height 33 cm.

SPOONS AND STIRRERS

Terms: ukezo—spoon (O’Neil 1911: 236; Bulawayo Natn. Mus. a (2120-30), Mata-

beleland, no date; Tjolotjo, 1973); upehlo/ubudhlo—stirring-stick (O’Neil 1911: 269); ipini/

upini—stirrer (O’Neil 1911: 269) (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Most Matabele spoons seen were carved with the bowl in the same plane

as the handle (SAM-10192, Essexvale, 1973; Bulawayo Natn. Mus. 3% and

2,5

333, Matabeleland, no date; Tjolotjo, 1973), and averaged about 40 cm in

length (Fig. 109). The exception noted was a 73 cm-long spoon with the bowl

carved at almost 45° to the handle (SAM-1342, Mangwe, 1911) (Fig. 110). The

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 293

Fig. 108. Ndebele mortar,

Tjolotjo, 1973.

— SEES

Fig. 109. Ndebele spoon, Matabeleland,

213

Bulawayo Nat. Mus. Bae

bowls were round and fairly deep. A rib from the round handle may extend

beneath the bowl (SAM-10192, Essexvale, 1973). A groove (SAM-1342,

Mangwe, 1911; Tjolotjo, 1973) or a hole (SAM-10192, Essexvale, 1973; Bula-

wayo Natn. Mus. 44 and 4+, Matabeleland, no date) was made at the end

27.5

27.2

for the attachment of a hanging cord.

294 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 110. Long Ndebele spoon, Empandeni Mission, Mangwe, 1911, SAM-1342.

The bowl rims and sections of the handle were decorated with branding

(SAM-1342, Mangwe, 1911; SAM-10192, Essexvale, 1973).

Several woods were used for carving spoons, namely the soft iganu (Sclero-

carya caffra (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 55, 1320)) (O’Neil 1911: 238),

the ‘bush’ umnyelenyele (O’Neil 1911: 238), the white and brittle umgugudu

(Pseudocassine transvaalensis (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 184, 1320)),

makulu (Crossopteryx febrifuga (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1261)), and

umlendhovu (Balanites aegyptiaca (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1322))

(Tjolotjo, 1973).

Very big spoons were used for stirring, in the preparation of beer (O’ Neil

1911: 238), or for cooking porridge (SAM-1342, Mangwe, 1911). In the past

food was eaten with the fingers, but by 1911 store-bought metal spoons were

being used (O’Neil 1911: 238).

A stirrer, upehlo or ubudlo, consisting of a forked stick, was rubbed between

both hands to mash cooked food. Another stirrer, ipini, was used in porridge

making (O’Neil 1911: 269). Itejane wood (Combretum hereroense (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1252)) could be used to make stirrers (Tjolotjo, 1973)).

STOOLS

Term: isitulo—stool (Tjolotjo, 1973).

The use of stools by the Matabele is of relatively recent and non-indigenous

origin (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 61), as shown by the term. In Lobengula’s

reign in the late nineteenth century, only the king was allowed a chair or stool,

but by 1911 small wooden stools were being used generally (O’Neil 1911: 235).

_ The stools seen were possibly reversible, since the concave round seat and

base were roughly identical. Four legs, straight or curved, ran between the seat

and base. The stools were small, about 30 cm both in height and at greatest

diameter (Tjolotjo and Essexvale, 1973) (Fig. 111).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 295

Fig. 111. Ndebele stool, Tjolotjo, 1973.

The legs might have decorative shapes, and the stools were often branded

(Tjolotjo, 1973).

Stools were carved from soft wood, umganu (Sclerocarya caffra (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 55, 1320)) (O’Neil 1911: 235; Tjolotjo, 1973).

A specialist woodcarver at Tjolotjo (1973) was using an adze, isancelo,

a hammer, isandu, and a chisel to carve stools. A piece of car-spring was held

in the fire and then applied to the finished stool for the decorative branding,

after which the stool was rubbed with ox fat. The completed stools were stored

in plastic sheeting to prevent weathering by the sun (Tjolotjo, 1973). A stool

might be bought from a maker some distance from the homestead (Essexvale,

1973).

Chairs were adopted more slowly than stools (O’Neil 1911: 235). They

were also carved of soft umganu (Sclerocarya caffra (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 55, 1320)) (Tjolotjo, 1973).

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

DRUMS

Terms: ingungu—drum (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 62; Tjolotjo, 1973).

Matabele drums were cylindrical, with a narrower cylinder as base. Those

seen in the field were about 40 cm high with heads about 25 cm in diameter.

Ox-hide was stretched over the head of the drum and secured with small wooden

pegs.

Drums were sometimes decorated with incised and branded horizontal

bands (Fig. 112)

296 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 112. Ndebele women drumming, Tjolotjo, 1973.

They were carved of soft wood, umganu (Sclerocarya caffra (Watt &

Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 55, 1320)) (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Drums were not a Zulu item of culture and were not used by the Zansi

and Enhla higher castes who were mainly Zulu in origin (Hughes & Van Velsen

1955: 62).

PERSONAL OBJECTS

HAIRPINS

In the 1830s, wooden pins, rounded at their thicker end and tapering to a

very sharp point, were commonly stuck in the hair ready to be used to remove

thorns from the hands and feet (Smith 1975: 277).

EAR-STUDS

A stud of wood was inserted to keep open the slit, a tribal mark, made in

the ear-lobes of children aged about ten. By the 1950s this practice was falling

into disuse (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 96).

NECKLETS

Term: ubande—necklet worn by the family of the chief (Bulawayo, 1973).

Short lengths of wood about 1,5 cm long, indented at their centres and

branded at each end, were strung interlinked to a length of about 70 cm, to

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 297

make special necklets, whande (Fig. 113). They were carved from wood of the

same name, ubande (Spirostachys africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962:

1316)), or from umguma (Olea africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1320)).

The tools used to carve the necklet were an adze, isancelo, and a chisel.

The necklets were regarded as the special ornament of the family of the

chief (SAM-10199, Bulawayo, 1973).

PENIS SHEATHS

Terms: incwado—penis sheath (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 95; Hughes & Summers

1955: 787); umncwado—penis sheath (Summers & Pagden 1970: 28).

A penis sheath was an essential part of the traditional dress of Matabele

men. It was sometimes made of wood although calabash was most common

(Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 95; Summers & Pagden 1970: 28). No further

description was given.

SNUFF-BOXES

No reference to snuff-boxes was found in the literature although tobacco

was grown for snuff (O’Neil 1910: 148). The only specimens seen were of novel

forms, tortoise- and flask-shaped. The tortoise-shaped snuff-boxes were about

5 cm wide and 7 cm long. The stopper formed the ‘head’ (SAM-10198, Essex-

Fig. 113. Ndebele necklet,

Bulawayo, 1973,

SAM-10199.

298 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

vale, 1973). The second example was said to have been carved in imitation of

a clay pot, and had a bulbous base narrowing to a neck, and a curved ‘handle’

to one side. The neck was decorated with a ring of cattle-horn. It was 7 cm high,

with the diameter of the base 4 cm.

The snuff-boxes were carved of umbambangwe heart-wood (Dalbergia

melanoxylon (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1318)). The carver, a self-taught

boy, cut down the tree with an axe and left it to dry lest it crack during carving.

It was then cut into workable sections with a saw, and, to make the tortoise-

shaped boxes, planed smooth. The design was drawn on to the wood, the inside

cavity was made, and then the outside was carved with an adze and small

chisels. Some of the carver’s tools were modified from his father’s paint scrapers

(Fig. 114). The finished carving was smoothed with sandpaper but no fat was

applied (Essexvale, 1973).

WEAPONS

AXE-HAFTS

Terms: ihloka—chopping-axe (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 61); imbemba—battle axe

(Hughes & Summers 1955: 784); ibemba—axe (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Axes were not among traditional (i.e. Zulu) Matabele weapons (Hughes

& Summers 1955: 784), but were used with great effect by the Shona, Kalanga

and Swazi, and were possibly adopted from them by the lowest Matabele caste

(Hughes & Summers 1955: 784). The axe, imbemba, was made by fixing a

Shona axe-head at right angles to the head of a Matabele club (Hughes &

Fig. 114. Tools used by Ndebele snuff-box

maker, Essexvale, 1973.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 299

Summers 1955: 784). Specimens seen varied in length from 36 to 72 cm (NM

1600, no locality, 1909; Tjolotjo, 1973) (Fig. 115, lower).

Chopping-axes, amahloka, not designed for warfare, were also made

(Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 61; Hughes & Summers 1955: 784) (Figs 100

upper, 115 upper).

CLUBS

Term: induku—knobkerrie (O’Neil 1911: 238; Hughes & Summers 1955: 781; Summers

& Pagden 1970: 23) (Tjolotjo, 1973).

A more usual Nguni weapon was the club, induku, about 70 cm long with

a rounded head about 8 cm in diameter (Hughes & Summers 1955: 781) (SAM-—

10188, Tjolotjo, 1973; NM 1599, no locality, 1909; Magama mission, Tjolotjo,

1973) (Fig. 116). The shaft might be decorated with diagonal grooving (O’ Neil

1911: 236) or wire binding (NM 1599, no locality, 1909).

rigs

Fig. 115. Ndebele axes: upper—working-axe; lower—fighting-axe, Tjolotjo, 1973.

Fig. 116. Ndebele club, Tjolotjo, 1973, SAM-10188.

300 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Clubs were usually carved of umdhlampunzi (Grewia monticola) but if this

were not available, the durable umquma (Olea africana (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk

1962: 1419)) was used (Hughes & Summers 1955: 781). A field informant said

that clubs were made from either the root or stem part of a tree, and that

itejane wood (Combretum hereroense (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962: 1252))

was used (Tjolotjo, 1973).

In the late nineteenth century, when the Matabele were conquering invaders,

clubs were the only weapon the upper Zansi (Zulu) caste made for themselves

(Hughes & Summers 1955: 781; Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 61).

The club was thrown overarm, held with the thumb lying along the shaft

to give greater accuracy (Hughes & Summers 1955: 781). It was also used as a

hunting-weapon for small game, especially by boys (Holub 1893: 187; Hughes

& Summers 1955: 781).

SPEAR-SHAFTS

Terms: imikonto—spears or assegais; isika—stabbing-spear—the king’s spear; isishula—

throwing-spear; indikadika, usiba—stabbing-spear (Summers & Pagden 1970: 20, 22).

Although the short stabbing-spear, isika, was the distinguishing war

weapon of the Matabele (Arbousset & Daumas 1846: 134; Bryden 1893: 36),

the longer types and those made by other groups in the area, were also used

by the invaders (Hughes & Summers 1955: 780). Summers & Pagden (1970: 20)

give the following shaft lengths for the three types of spear: isika—90 cm;

usiba/indikadika and isishula—120 cm. Museum specimens of throwing-spears,

however, average 100 cm in shaft length (MVB SA III D 1814, 1815, 1818, no

locality, 1898; Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden, Holub collection

976.69, 976.70, no locality, no date). These specimens had straight or tapering

shafts with an average diameter of 2 cm at the insertion point. Spears figured by

Burrow (1971: 46) and by Summers & Pagden (1970, fig. 1) show shafts flanging

at the butt.

The securing of the metal spear-head to the shaft by means of a sleeve of

oxtail was regarded as the traditional method (Hughes & Summers 1955: 781).

However binding with leather thonging or sinew occurred frequently (Burrow

1971: 46; Hughes & Summers 1955: 781) (Bulawayo Natn. Mus. 7°97.)

Matabeleland, 1893; Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden, Holub collec-

tion 976.69, 976.70, no locality, no date).

No information on the type of wood used, or on the making of the shaft

or fixing of the spear-head was found.

The short stabbing-spear, isika, was given to a young warrior by the king,

and was returned to the king on the warrior’s death, when it was reissued to a

new recruit (Hughes & Summers 1955: 781). The spear would possibly have to

be resharpened, and consequently rehafted (Summers & Pagden 1970: 23).

This type of spear is now very rare, and is regarded as an heirloom by families

possessing one (Summers & Pagden 1970: 23).

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 30!

STICKS

Term: induku—knobkerrie (O’Neil 1911: 236).

Matabele sticks were about 1 m long with relatively small heads (SAM-

10193, Essexvale, 1973; Queenstown and Frontier museum 44, Matabeleland,

1895). They might be decorated with grooving and branding (SAM-—10193,

Essexvale, 1973). The head was carved from the root, and the shaft from the

trunk of a tree (Tjolotjo, 1973).

Sticks about 90 cm long with a small round head and decorated with wire

work were carried by important people (Muller & Snelleman 1893, pl. 16, figs.

4-5). A pair of metre-long sticks, the thickness of a finger, were amongst the

weapons carried on the march (Holub 1893: 186).

‘Long white wands’ (Moffat 1842: 534) or sticks with the tree bark removed

but otherwise unworked, were held by dancing women at ceremonies (Anderson

1888: 375). A stick with a carved snake, representing the amadlozi or ancestor

spirits, was formerly used only by diviners as a dancing stick at curing-dances

(Essexvale, 1973). A specimen in the South African Museum is | m long, and

is made of ucane (Rhus lancea (Watt & Breyer-Brandwiyk 1962: 1317)) (SSAM-

10191, Essexvale, 1973) (Fig. 117).

RITUAL OBJECTS

DIVINING-TABLETS

Term: itambo—divining-bone (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 107).

Sets of divining-tablets consisting of flat roughly rectangular pieces of

wood about 10 cm long and 3 cm wide, with a small projection at one narrow

end, and carved in conventional designs on one face, were used by Matabele

diviners (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 107) (Bulawayo Natn. Mus. 23 (2647)

and 73 (2648), Matabeleland, no date) (Fig. 118). The tablets might be carved

from different coloured woods, for example, red and white (Bulawayo Natn.

Mus. 73 (2648), Matabeleland, no date).

Fig. 117. Ndebele stick, Essexvale. 1973, SAM-10191.

302 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

Fig. 118. Ndebele wooden divining-tablets, Matabeleland,

Bulawayo Nat. Mus. mai (2648)

Divining with these tablets was practised primarily by the Lozwi caste

(Sotho and Shona) (Hughes & Van Velsen 1955: 107), and was not a traditional

Nguni feature.

Divination with sticks, slightly larger than the bones, was also practised

(Dornan 1925: 300). The sticks were laid on the ground and questioned. This

accords with Zulu custom.

SUMMARY

Several types of hard and soft woods were used, but the light marula,

Sclerocarya caffra was the most widely used.

Carving was done by men, some of the more skilled becoming specialists

and selling to other families. The craft was not necessarily passed from father

to son.

An adze was the tool most widely used, both for rougher and finer carving,

and, by heating the blade, for branding. Branded decoration was the most

common, although no characteristic pattern was noted. Carved decoration was

found on the legs of stools.

Objects made reflect the background of the Ndebele. The milk-pails,

clubs, tambuti necklets, and meat-dishes were in Zulu style, while bowls, floor-

beaters and drums showed Sotho and Shona influence.

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 303

DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY

The areas inhabited by the Nguni were all provided with suitable material

for wood-carving. Natal and the bush-veld areas of Swaziland and the Trans-

vaal were particularly well forested, and while the Transkei was not so rich,

there were forest areas. In certain Transkei forests, tree-felling and hunting

were forbidden by the chiefs, but no record of such restrictions in the other

areas has been found. The influx of white farmers brought pressure on land,

and later the government imposed restrictions on tree-felling, thus limiting to

some extent the availability of material for carving the larger objects.

The use of one particular tree in an area was noted among the Ndebele of

Zimbabwe only, where umganu, Sclerocarya caffra, was used almost exclusively,

possibly not only because it is available, but is an easily worked soft wood. —

In other areas it appeared that soft and hard woods were equally used, although

certain objects called for specific types of wood. Milk-pails, for example, were

often made of a soft wood. Hard woods were used for hafts of tools and

weapons, and for clubs and sticks. Pipes, amongst the few more precious

personal possessions of a Southern Nguni man or woman, were made of dark

and durable root wood. Certain trees have natural qualities which have given

them special appeal and value. The aromatic wood of the tambuti, Spirostachys

africana, which although fairly widely spread in southern Africa was not avail-

able everywhere, was used for necklaces for men and women by the Xhosa,

Thembu, Natal Nguni, Ndzundza and Ndebele of Zimbabwe. A red wood,

umncaka, Rhamnus zeyheri, was reserved for the sticks of Zulu chiefs. The

Swazi believed that mbondvo and mswati wood gave special strength to royalty.

In all areas wooden utensils required by a family were generally carved by

the men of the household. More difficult and complicated woodwork such as

the carving of milk-pails and pipes, and the hafting of weapons, tended to be

done by specialists. These were men especially skilled in carving rather than

men doing carving full-time for economic gain. Craftwork was always secondary

in the economic life of the Nguni.

The extent of specialization is, however, not at all clear from the records.

How much carving was normally done by a man, and how much he relied on a

neighbour with a greater aptitude is difficult to assess now that the situation

has changed so much. On the one hand specialization has increased since many

men have been employed away from home. On the other hand the fact that

changes in lifestyle have made certain objects, headrests for example, redundant,

together with the availability of ready-made substitute goods in the stores, have

caused a decline in the craft.

Formerly carved objects were bartered for livestock, or might even have

been given away to kin in which case practical help probably reciprocated. The

more specialized carvers operating today sell their work for cash and have

access to more outlets for sale.

It was recorded that in Swaziland a carver would teach the craft to his

304 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

son, and while it is probable that this was generally the case, there is no con-

firmation. Latterly the skill may be learnt at school.

No particular prestige appears to have been attached to the craft. An

interesting case of royal patronage did, however, occur at the beginning of the

nineteenth century in Natal, when Dingiswayo, the Mtethwa chief, encouraged

fine wood-carving and laid the foundation for the beautiful vessels later pro-

duced by the Zulu.

Information on the seasoning of timber is not very clear. In Natal hard

wood was said to be very difficult to carve if allowed to dry well, but the wood

of trees felled when the sap flow was low was preferred. It appears that the

timber was seasoned for certain types of carving where durability would be

particularly valued. Southern Nguni pipe-makers, for example, chose a dead

tree or left the wood to dry in the forest or inside a hut, a Zulu carver buried

logs intended for meat-dishes in a trench to dry slowly, wood for Zulu clubs

had the bark stripped off and was buried in the cattle kraal, and seasoned wood

was used by a Matabele snuff-box carver. The seasoning of timber was not

recorded for the Swazi and Transvaal Ndebele, but this may be due to general

lack of information on these groups.

Traditionally all objects were carved from the solid.

A chopping-axe used for felling the tree had the blade turned in the haft

to form an adze for shaping an object, and was used throughout. Zulu and

Swazi terms are given for a tool with a curved blade used for hollowing out

wooden objects. This is a well-known tool among the Sotho but no examples

were seen among the Nguni.

A spear-blade commonly served as a knife. The use of rough tree bark

for smoothing was recorded for the Zulu.

The problem of steadying a large object such as a milk-pail without a vice

during carving was solved by the Zulu by half sinking it in the ground while

hollowing the inside.

Animal fat was applied for the protection and polishing of a carved object,

although pig fat was avoided as it was said to cause cracking. Beef fat was

rubbed on a surface to be branded.

Since European contact many modern tools have been adopted, namely

axes, saws, hammers and chisels, mechanical drills and bits, files, knives and

sandpaper. These may be store bought or made by the carver himself. Fat is

still used on the finished carving.

Branded geometric patterns are found on many objects, notably on spoons

and milk-pails, and the entire outer surface of meat-dishes is often branded.

The undersurface of a meat-dish is branded since this is the part displayed

when the dish is hung up.

A carved decoration often seen on Zulu wooden objects, and also on clay

pots and horn snuff-boxes, is a series of small raised blocks and ridges, generally

branded.

Large areas of grooving, with the lines running in differing directions to

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 305

form patterns, were used very effectively and characteristically on Zulu wood-

carvings. The same device is found on Mpondo and Bomvana milk-pails but

the finish is not so fine.

Swazi clubs and headrests are decorated with similar fluted carving.

One type of necklet made by the Ndzundza has altogether peculiar and

distinctive patterns carved on tambuti wood tablets.

Naturalistic carving is more rare. Snake designs decorate some Mpondo,

Zulu and Matabele sticks, and Southern Nguni pipe-bowls are sometimes carved

in fairly elaborate designs, including human and animal figures.

Another particular type of decoration found on Southern Nguni pipe-

bowls is the incising of small geometric patterns into which lead is run or

pressed.

The butt-ends of the hafts of weapons are commonly cross-hatched, but

this is primarily for a better grip.

Repair of wooden articles was not often recorded. Cracks in a Bomvana

milk-pail were plastered with cow-dung, while Zulu pails were repaired with

mimosa gum, or nailed or glued patches.

Objects carved of wood were mainly utilitarian, unlike horn, bone or

ivory which was more often used for special and prized objects. Exceptions did

occur, for example pipes, and necklets which were awarded to warriors for

bravery.

Most of the objects discussed were made entirely of wood, carved from

the solid, but for other—spears, axes, hoes, musical bows—wood was used with

another material, and the wooden part served mainly as a haft.

The recorded occurrence of objects carved of wood by the Nguni groups

is shown in Table 1.

Certain objects were common to almost all groups, foremost of which were

hoes. Mortars and pestles were widely used, except by the Natal Nguni. Milk-

pails were not often recorded for the Southern Nguni, and are absent in the

Transvaal. Meat-dishes were not made by the Southern Nguni or the Transvaal

Ndebele. Sotho-style grain dishes were used by the Transvaal Ndebele. Head-

rests were made by the Southern and Natal Nguni, and the Swazi—their use

said to be necessitated by the elaborate hair styles worn. The same type of

three-legged headrest, made from a tree branch with the natural projections

forming the legs, was used by the Mpondo and southern Natal groups. Necklaces

of pencil-like pieces of tambuti wood were worn by the Xhosa and Thembu,

the Natal Nguni, Swazi and southern Transvaal Ndebele. An award for bravery

in warfare, made of small interlocking pieces of wood, was given to Zulu,

Swazi and Matabele warriors. Pipes, although adopted from the Dutch by the

western Southern Nguni groups, have come to be considered traditional and

display style and skill. Clubs and sticks were used by all, and sticks still form

part of men’s dress.

Firm conclusions about the distribution of objects made and on the makers

themselves cannot be drawn from the information available from the literature

306 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

TABLE |

Distribution of carved wooden objects recorded in survey.

Xhosa

Thembu

Bomvana

Mpondo

Mpondomise

Mfengu

Hlubi

Xesibe

Bhaca

Msinga area

Drakensberg area

Southern Natal

Swaziland

S. Tvl. Ndebele

N. Tvl. Ndebele

Ndebele of Zimbabwe

Armbands

Bowls ; : : é :

Clubs 5 . a 6 A : x

Combs . , 5 : i :

Digging-sticks . : 5 3 x

Drums, drumsticks 3 5 ‘ Baie

Divining-sticks

Divining-tablets

Ear-studs

Floor smoothers . é 6 5

Flutes i 6 4 6 , R x xe xX

Gora * 6 A - 5 5 x x

Hairpins .

Headbands

Headrests

Hoe-hafts

Meat-dishes

Milk-pails

Mirrors i

Mortars, pestles

Musical bows .

Necklaces a : 5 9 4

Penis sheaths . s 5 : 5 <

Pipes 5

Snuff-boxes

Snuff-spoons .

Spear-shafts

Spades

Spoons, etc.

Sticks

Stools 5

Threshing-sticks . 6 , 2

Troughs . 5 5 é 3 ‘ x x

Vessels

Whistles .

x »@« Zululand

x xX

> > a> a, Gn a, a ED GG

XXX xX

xX XOX

x x x

x XX

XXX

x XXX

KDOOXEXOK PGRN ROK eG KEI XE

XO KOON

PSPSPS PndiPes

xx XX

xX KXKKKX KKK

xoxox

x X X

x XX

KOK KK KOK KG OK KK:

x XX

or the amount of fieldwork that it was possible to undertake. A longer period

in the field might have filled some of the gaps, but, in fact, the survey was made

too late to reveal a complete picture. It appears, however, that the craft was

most highly developed in Natal, which may be due to a good supply of timber

and to the availability of metal tools for carving.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgement is hereby made of the financial assistance of the Human

Sciences Research Council towards the research and publication of the work.

Opinions expressed or conclusions reached are those of the author and should

not be regarded as representative of those of the Human Sciences Research

Council.

Thanks are due to the directors of Africana Museum, Johannesburg;

McGregor Museum, Kimberley; East London Museum; F. S. Malan Museum,

SOME NGUNI CRAFTS: WOOD-CARVING 307

Fort Hare; National Museum, Bloemfontein; National Cultural History and

Open Air Museum, Pretoria; Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg; Port Elizabeth

Museum; Queenstown and Frontier Museum, Queenstown; Campbell Museum,

Durban; British Museum, London; Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford; Cambridge

Ethnographic Museum; Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden; Linden

Museum, Stuttgart; Museum fiir Volkerkunde, Berlin; and State Ethnographic

Museum, Stockholm, for permission to use material in their collections; to the

Department of Co-operation and Development for permission to work in

tribal areas; to Miss I. McCalman, Bulawayo, for the use of her collection; to

Mr G. Velcich, formerly of the Department of Co-operation and Development,

for making photographs and information available; to various referees for

useful criticism; to Miss L. Daniller and Mrs J. Hosford for photographic

work; to Mr V. Branco for the drawings, and to Mrs T. Zieve for typing the

manuscript.

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SHaw, E. M. 1976. Some Nguni crafts. Preface, introduction. Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 70.

SHaw, E. M. & VAN WARMELO, N. J. 1948. The material culture of the Cape Nguni. Part 4.

Manuscript in South African Museum.

SHAw, E. M. & VAN WARMELO, N. J. 1974. The material culture of the Cape Nguni. Part 2.

Technology. Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 58: 103-214.

SHaw, E. M. & VAN WARMELO, N. J. 1980. The material culture of the Cape Nguni. Part 3.

Subsistence. Ann. A. Afr. Mus. 58. (In press.)

SHOOTER, J. 1857. The Kafirs of Natal and the Zulu country. London: E. Stanford.

Sim, T. R. 1907. The forests and forest flora of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Aberdeen:

Taylor & Henderson.

SmiTH, A. c. 1824-5. Kaffir notes 3. Unpublished manuscript in South African Museum.

SmitH, A. 1955. Andrew Smith and Natal. Kirby, P. R. ed. Cape Town: The Van Riebeeck

Society. (The Van Riebeeck Society Publications 36.)

SmitH, A. 1975. Andrew Smith’s journal of his expedition into the interior of South Africa,

1834-1836. Lye,. W. F. ed. Cape Town: Balkema, for the South African Museum.

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Cape of Good Hope and the interior of southern Africa. London: Dickinson.

Watt, M. J. & BREYER-BRANDWUK, M. G. 1962. The medicinal and poisonous plants of southern

and eastern Africa. Edinburgh: Livingstone.

Weiss, O. 1963. Funksionele kunsuitinge by die Amandzundza. Unpublished M.A. thesis,

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WILKERSON, G. J. 1943. Early Matabele industry. NADA 20: 12-17.

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312 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM

ABBREVIATIONS

AFR — Africana Museum, Johannesburg.

BM —British Museum, London, ethnographic collection.

Campbell—the Campbell collections of the University of Natal.

DC —Duggan-Cronin Bantu Gallery, McGregor Museum, Kimberley.

EL —East London Museum.

HW —Hamilton-Welsh collection, F. S. Malan Museum, Fort Hare.

MVB — Museum fiir V6lkerkunde, Berlin.

NAS —National Museum, Bloemfontein.

NASKO —National Cultural History and Open-Air Museum, Pretoria.

NM —Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg.

P-RM —Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford.

PE —Port Elizabeth Museum.

SAM —South African Museum, Cape Town.

UCT —University of Cape Town collection at the South African Museum.

6. SYSTEMATIC papers must conform to the Jnternational code of zoological nomenclature

(particularly Articles 22 and 51).

Names of new taxa, combinations, synonyms, etc., when used for the first time, must be

followed by the appropriate Latin (not English) abbreviation, e.g. gen. nov., sp. nov., comb.

nov., syn. nov., etc. ;

An author’s name when cited must follow the name of the taxon without intervening

punctuation and not be abbreviated; if the year is added, a comma must separate author’s

name and year. The author’s name (and date, if cited) must be placed in parentheses if a

species or subspecies is transferred from its original genus. The name of a subsequent user of

a scientific name must be separated from the scientific name by a colon.

Synonymy arrangement should be according to chronology of names, i.e. all published

scientific names by which the species previously has been designated are listed in chronological

order, with all references to that name following in chronological order, e.g.:

Family Nuculanidae

Nuculana (Lembulus) bicuspidata (Gould, 1845)

Figs 14-15SA

Nucula (Leda) bicuspidata Gould, 1845: 37.

Leda plicifera A. Adams, 1856: 50.

Laeda bicuspidata Hanley, 1859: 118, pl. 228 (fig. 73). Sowerby, 1871: pl. 2 (fig. 8a—b).

Nucula largillierti Philippi, 1861: 87.

Leda bicuspidata: Nicklés, 1950: 163, fig. 301; 1955: 110. Barnard, 1964: 234, figs 8-9.

Note punctuation in the above example:

comma separates author’s name and year

semicolon separates more than one reference by the same author

full stop separates references by different authors

figures of plates are enclosed in parentheses to distinguish them from text-figures

dash, not comma, separates consecutive numbers

Synonymy arrangement according to chronology of bibliographic references, whereby

the year is placed in front of each entry, and the synonym repeated in full for each entry, is

not acceptable.

In describing new Species, one specimen must be designated as the holotype; other speci-

mens mentioned in the original description are to be designated paratypes; additional material

not regarded as paratypes shou!d be listed separately. The complete data (registration number,

depository, description of specimen, locality, collector, date) of the holotype and paratypes

must be recorded, e.g.:

Holotype

SAM-—A13535 in the South African Museum, Cape Town. Adult female from mid-tide region, King’s Beach

Port Elizabeth (33°51’S 25°39’E), collected by A. Smith, 15 January 1973.

Note standard form of writing South African Museum registration numbers and date.

7. SPECIAL HOUSE RULES

Capital initial letters

(a) The Figures, Maps and Tables of the paper when referred to in the text

? 6

e.g. *... the Figure depicting C. namacolus ...’; *. . . in C. namacolus (Fig. 10)...’

(b) The prefixes of prefixed surnames in all languages, when used in the text, if not preceded

by initials or full names

e.g. Du Toit but A.L.du Toit; Von Huene but F. von Huene

e.g. Therocephalia, but therocephalian

Punctuation should be loose, omitting all not strictly necessary

Reference to the author should be expressed in the third person

Roman numerals should be converted to arabic, except when forming part of the title of a

book or article, such as

‘Revision of the Crustacea. Part VIII. The Amphipoda.’

Specific name must not stand alone, but be preceded by the generic name or its abbreviation

to initial capital letter, provided the same generic name is used consecutively.

Name of new genus or species is not to be included in the title: it should be included in the

abstract, counter to Recommendation 23 of the Code, to meet the requirements of

Biological Abstracts.